Today’s recipe was inspired by a bag of cornmeal that has been staring at me from my pantry — just daring me to make something other than cornbread. When it comes to starches, I’ve been stuck in a rut of making rice, quinoa, or potatoes. So bring on the polenta.

My first memory of polenta is sitting down at my grandmother’s table with a heaping bowl of cheesy polenta and venison stew, while I was subtly aware of the feud going on between the polenta-lovers and the polenta-haters of the family. My stepdad was firmly in the hater's camp so we never had polenta at home. 

The next time I even thought about polenta was after Lyle and I got married when, on a whim, I brought home a tube of firm polenta. I fried it up in olive oil and topped it with marinara sauce and plenty of cheese. Shockingly, Lyle loved it. But it didn’t do much for me — I missed the creaminess of my grandma’s polenta. The good news is that while the polenta in the recipe below is served warm and creamy, any leftovers will firm up in the fridge and can be fried up the next day.

Moroccan Shrimp with Creamy Quick Polenta

Serves 3 (Lyle and I each had this for dinner and Lyle took the leftovers for lunch the next day)

Ingredients

• 2½ cups chicken broth or water (I used homemade stock that I keep in 1 cup portions in the freezer)

• ½ cup yellow cornmeal

• 1 Tablespoon butter

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon Moroccan Seasoning (I use this blend but you can easily substitute with a mixture of paprika, cumin, turmeric, and salt)

• 1 lb thawed raw shrimp (I used size 21-25 peeled and deveined) 

• 3 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring broth or water to a boil in a pot. Once boiling, slowly pour in the cornmeal while whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the polenta is smooth and creamy. Turn the heat off and add the butter and salt to taste (a couple of pinches) and stir until combined. 

2. While the polenta is simmering, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan and add the spice mix, stirring occasionally for one minute, until fragrant. Add the shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes per side or until lightly pink and cooked through. Remove from heat.

3. Serve ⅓ of the polenta topped with ⅓ of the shrimp and 1 Tablespoon of parmesan cheese. 

This recipe goes well with a lightly dressed side salad or sautéd greens.

Cost:

Total: $3.62 per serving

While the cost of this recipe isn’t anywhere near as impressive as the 96-cent tostadas I shared last week, it does show off how to prepare an incredibly inexpensive ingredient — cornmeal — an ingredient that I will be sure to turn to more often.

Take that cornmeal!