Creamy Polenta, garlic shrimp, easy tomato sauce (makes ~4 servings)
Creamy Polenta
2 cups water or chicken stock
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
- It’s not a lot of cream, but trust me, you won‘t even miss the butter or cheese. If you do, just add a handful of your favorite parmesan, goat, or cheddar cheese
- Feel free to change the ratio of milk to cream if you want a richer polenta. I feel this ratio of 4:1 gives you a creamy polenta, without creating a dish with a 1000 calories
approx 2 cups polenta
salt and pepper to taste
- I was taught to make polenta by sight; when you’re whisking the polenta into the liquid keep adding polenta until you can continuously see polenta. This method allows you to make polenta with whatever amount of liquid you want. Polenta is a very forgiving food; you can always add more liquid to thicken it up, and you can still eat it even if it’s very loose; it does thicken up a bit once it’s done cooking, too.
– Bring stock, milk, and cream to a boil. Whisk in polenta and turn heat down to medium. Continue whisking until polenta thickens up and begins bubbling. – Turn heat down to low. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking until polenta is tender, about 8-10 minutes. If polenta becomes too thick before it’s done add in more liquid.
Garlic Shrimp w/ Easy Tomato Sauce
24-30 U 21/25 shrimp, peeled and deveined
- feel free to use smaller or larger shrimp, adjusting the number of shrimp you need accordingly. I just use U21/25 because that’s what Costco has
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp butter
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp basil, thinly sliced
red pepper flakes (optional
– Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add shrimp in a single layer (if you can’t fit them all flat then cook them in 2 batches) and saute until they turn bring orange, about 2-3 minutes per side.
– Flip shrimp over and add in butter, garlic, shallot, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking until shrimp are done
– Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside. Reserve garlic butter in the pan for tomato sauce
– Add the diced tomatoes, with juices, soy sauce, and basil to the pan. Keep pan over high heat and reduce the liquid down till becomes more sauce like. Adjust seasoning if necessary
– Remove pan from heat. Either add the shrimp back to the sauce and serve over polenta, or keep the shrimp and sauce separate
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