Specialty of the House: Irregardless Cafe’s Shrimp and Grits
My husband and I had a delightful dinner at Irregardless Cafe last night. The shrimp and grits dish with fresh veggies was amazing. The grits were creamy and smooth, and covered with a delicious mushroom cream sauce. We’ve taken a couple of cooking classes with chef-owner Arthur Gordon and are hopeful he will share this wonderful recipe.
Sonja Puryear
Raleigh
Irregardless Cafe’s chef-proprietor Arthur Gordon shared the recipe via his wife, Anya, who runs the cafe’s catering operation.
She explained that their version of shrimp and grits has been on the menu for more than five years.
Mind you: the Raleigh restaurant has been open since the mid-1970s and was Raleigh’s first vegetarian restaurant. Arthur Gordon served bean burgers, housemade yogurt and freshly baked whole-wheat bread decades before it was de rigueur. He bought ingredients from local farmers before the phrase “farm-to-table” was likely even coined. Gordon’s restaurant has evolved to offer a menu to please vegans, vegetarians and carnivores. It’s one of those restaurants you can take a family with disparate diets without having to worry that people won’t have pleasing choices on the menu.
One of my favorite facts about Irregardless is related to a 1994 fire that shut down the restaurant for 11 months. Insurance paid almost all the salaries of his about 40 employees, but Gordon didn’t want them sitting home watching television. So he required them to volunteer at local charities during the hours they would have worked at the restaurant.
Back to the dish at hand – what elevates Gordon’s version of this classic Low Country dish is the sauce, Anya Gordon explains: “What really makes it delicious is the sherry cream sauce.”
We have to agree.
Specialty of the House gets recipes for local restaurant dishes. Send requests, including your city, to Specialty of the House, The N&O, P.O. Box 191, Raleigh, N.C. 27602; or email aweigl@newsobserver.com.
Irregardless Cafe’s Shrimp and Grits with a Wild Mushroom Sherry Cream Sauce
Note: Portabella mushrooms will tint the sauce black unless the gills are removed first.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pounds wild mushrooms, such as shiitake, oyster and cremini
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
4 plum tomatoes or 2 slicing tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cheddar Parmesan Grit Cakes (recipe below)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms with the garlic, onion and pepper flakes for about 5-8 minutes or until mushrooms have been nicely lightly browned.
Remove the skillet from the heat and add the sherry, being aware of possible flames. Place skillet back on heat and reduce by half to two thirds.
Add cream and reduce by half or two thirds, lower heat and add shrimp, thyme, parsley, tomatoes and lemon juice. Cook until shrimp are opaque and no longer translucent, about 1 to 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Spoon shrimp, vegetables and sauce over Cheddar Parmesan Grit Cakes.
Yield: about 4 servings
Cheddar Parmesan Grit Cakes
2 3/4 cups water
1 1/3 cups coarse ground grits, such as Anson Mills or Old Guilford
2 1/2 cups whole milk
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dish
3 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese, (about 3/4 cup)
3 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, (about 3/4 cup)
Place the grits in a saucepan and cover with the water. Stir once, cover and let soak overnight at room temperature.
The next day set the saucepan over medium heat and add the milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring almost constantly. Add salt then reduce heat and cook for about 50 minutes to 1 hour and continue stirring every couple of minutes.
The grits are finished cooking when they are very thick and will hold shape when stirred. Remove from heat and vigorously stir in butter and cheeses. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Spoon grits into a buttered baking pan and spread evenly and cool for at least two hours or until grits are firm.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Turn out grits onto a cutting board and cut into desired shapes, like squares or triangles. Place grit cakes on a buttered baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes; turn and cook an additional 12 minutes. Cakes should be pleasantly browned with a creamy center.
Yield: about 8 cakes
This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Specialty of the House: Irregardless Cafe’s Shrimp and Grits."