Sauteed Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits with Black Bean Salsa

In this recipe, there are three ingredients that I am crazy about.  First, grits.  I love grits in all shapes and sizes, as long as they’re done right.  Secondly, gouda.  I adore gouda cheese.  Its flavor is so full, it brings so much to whatever recipe it’s incorporated into.  Finally, I will admit that I am an avid supporter of black beans.  Soups, burritos, you name it I love it.  It’s one of the few beans that I really love.  And this recipe brings everything phenomenal out of each ingredient, making it loud and something I promise you will crave again and again.

This recipe is compliments of a Food Network Challenge featuring John and Greta Barbour-Mills from Jackson, Mississippi.  It’s pretty straight forward to make.  There’s a fair amount of prep work with both the grits and the salsa, and if you’re serving it for company (like I was), you’ll need to work on your timing.  I made this as an appetizer before the pork loin recipe from last week, which worked out pretty well.  The pork loin is a lot of prep work with a lot of time in the oven, so while the grits were chilling I rubbed the roast, and while the roast was chilling I made the salsa, etc, etc.  You don’t care about the details, my point was just that if you’re on a schedule this holiday season, make sure you read through the whole recipe before you make a time table. 

Then again, I’m a sucker for an itinerary.  I get that from my grandfather.

Sauteed Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits with Black Bean Salsa
Source: John and Greta Barbour- Mills

Grits:

2 cups milk

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup grits

3/4 cup chopped gouda

2 1/4 tbsp salt

3 tbsp butter

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp pepper

1 cup beer

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup sour cream

1 medium tomato, diced (this time of year you could use 1 cup of cherry tomatoes)

2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tbsp chopped green onion

12 fresh chives, cut into 1 inch pieces

Bring milk and water to a boil.  Stir in grits, cheese, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cook until grits are soft.  Stir in 2 tbsp butter.  Pour grits into a baking pan.  Cover and chill two hours.  

Cut into 2 inch squares.  If your grits don’t quite take shape by the time you need them to be solid, you can improvise and make grit balls, just use your hands and the congealing power of flour to form balls that you can drop into the pan.  If you’ve had to resort to making balls, it might be better to use peanut or vegetable oil instead of butter.  Melt butter in saucepan, then add in your oil.  Dip grits in beer, dredge in flour, and repeat. Lightly fry grits until golden on all sides.  

Salsa:

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2/3 cup picante sauce

2 medium tomatoes, diced (or 2 cups cherry tomatoes)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

3 tbsp parsley leaves

3 tbsp chopped green onion

Saute garlic and onions in butter.  Stir in beans, picante, tomato, spices, and salt and pepper.  Cook until thoroughly heated.  Stir in parsley and green onions.  Cover and chill.

 

Spoon salsa over grit squares.  Top with sour cream, tomatoes, green onion, and chives.  If you’re presenting this as an appetizer, you can have the grit squares on a plate, covered in the salsa, with the additional toppings in separate bowls.  That way people can arrange them on their own plate, which is much easier as the sour cream kind of mucks up any semblance of presentation you may have had going for you.