Chef’s Mix Mushrooms & Mascarpone Cheese Grits
This delicious grits / polenta recipe was created by the talented Chef Anna Rossi. It originally aired in December of 2023 on The Fresh Market website as part of their holiday meals live streaming video. The recipe lovingly shows off our savory Chef’s Mix bringing out all of those wonderful flavors, aromas and textures to your kitchen.
Servings: 4
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup stone ground white or yellow grits (not instant)
4 cups +/- milk or water (for cooking grits according to package instructions)
1 tsp kosher salt
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 lb (31-40 ct) peeled/deveined shrimp (Optional)
4 strips bacon, chopped into ½-in pieces
3 sprigs fresh thyme
RI Mushroom Co. Chef's Mix mushrooms (pieces torn by hand into large bite size pieces)
¼ cup white wine
2 tbsp butter
Directions
Cook grits according to package instructions. If you like a creamier texture, use milk for the cooking liquid. Add salt. Once grits are tender, thick and creamy, reduce heat to low and whisk in mascarpone cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm. Chef tip: If waiting to serve, pour a little extra milk or water (about ½ cup) on top of the covered grits. Just before serving, stir into the mixture to relax them.
If using shrimp, in a large skillet over medium high heat, saute in 1 TBS olive oil until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Place in a small bowl and set aside.
Return the heat to medium and add bacon pieces to the skillet. Cook until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add RI Mushroom Co. Chef's Mix and thyme to the hot pan and saute in bacon fat over medium high heat until lightly browned.
When the mushrooms have cooked through, deglaze the pan with white wine. Add butter and return the bacon and shrimp to the mixture.
To serve, spoon grits into serving bowls, top RI MushroomCo. Chef’s Mix and extra thyme sprigs for garnish.
Original recipe can be found here.