Southern-Style Grits
Grits are the breakfast of the American South, coarsely ground corn simmered until it swells into a creamy, savory pot. The corn itself is a whole grain and costs almost nothing; what usually loads it up is the butter and cheese stirred in at the end. This version gets the same richness from blended white beans, which fold in a silky, creamy body with a little protein, and from nutritional yeast, which supplies the savory, cheesy depth. The one rule that cannot be broken is to use real stone-ground grits, not instant, and to give them the full twenty-odd minutes to hydrate, because that slow swelling is where the flavor and the texture both live. Keep them loose and season hard with black pepper. Serve them under stewed greens, beans, or roasted tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Polenta / coarse cornmeal
- 2 cups Unsweetened soy milk
- 1/2 cup Blended white beans
- 3 tbsp Nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 wholes Scallions, sliced
- 3/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
Method
- Bring 2 cups (475 ml) of water and the soy milk to a bare simmer, then rain the coarse cornmeal in slowly while whisking. Adding the grain in a thin stream against a whisk is the only way to keep it from seizing into lumps, and lumps in grits cannot be whisked out later.
- Drop the heat to low and cook, stirring often, for 20 to 25 minutes. Stone-ground grits take time because the whole corn has to hydrate and swell all the way through; the instant kind skips this, which is exactly why it tastes of nothing. Add a splash more water any time it gets too thick to stir.
- Stir in the minced garlic partway through so it loses its raw edge into the pot. Cooking it in the hot grits mellows it, where added at the end it would taste sharp against the sweet corn.
- Off the heat, beat in the blended white beans and the nutritional yeast. The beans are the trick that makes grits creamy with no butter or cheese, folding in a silky body and a little protein, while the nutritional yeast brings the savory, almost cheesy note the dish is built to carry.
- Finish with the pepper, smoked paprika, and most of the scallions, saving a few for the top. Grits want plenty of black pepper to lift the mild corn, and the scallions add a fresh bite against the creamy pot. Serve at once, while loose and hot, since grits stiffen fast as they sit.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 200 calories, 7 g protein, 4 g fiber, 60 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
