Heirloom Grains - Historic Taste
by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
I have to tell you more about Anson Mills. Last night I ate a dish of Anson Mills Antebellum cornmeal - nothing like I’ved tasted or felt in my mouth before. Certainly not a “foodie” of any kind, yet I’m still thinking about it.
This goes beyond organic - Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills in Columbia, South Carolina, had a bigger mission in mind - to grow, harvest and stone mill near extinct varieties of heirloom corn, rice and wheat. It all began in 1998 with a rare corn, frozen-milled with native granite mills. The taste and nutrients are preservedd with this original cold-milling process. Word first spread through renowned chefs in all parts of the U.S.. I was enthused by the idea of actually being able to consume a close-to-local grain, but the taste of everything I’ve ordered has blown my mind.
Anson Mills now offers grits, cornmeal, Carolina Gold Rice, graham and biscuit flours, Japanese Buckwheat, French Oats, Italian Farro and works with 30 organic growers in 6 states.
We’re rediscovering our health, sustainability, taste and Art in our foods. Another step to wholeness.
Tags: Anson Mills, Local Grains
February 11th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Do you eat shrimp & grits?
Ingredients:
1 lb 15-20 shell on, headless shrimp – preferably gulf coast
2 cloves garlic (divided use)
Half a lemon
Tabasco or other hot sauce
Jalapeño pepper
Butter
1 cup old fashion white or yellow corn grits – Anson Mills makes superb grits prepared as directed with milk or water http://www.ansonmills.com/. Good grits take an hour or more to cook.
Salt & pepper
1 tsp pepper corns
Bay leaf
1 oz pancetta (substitute bacon or county ham)
1 small onion or shallot, minced
Olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1Tablespoon flour
Prepare shrimp & make stock.
Peel shrimp – place shells in small sauce pan
Cover with water, add zest of half lemon, bay leaf, 1 garlic clove (smashed & peeled), 1 tsp of whole pepper corns, gently simmer while grits are cooking (about an hour), strain and discard solids and set aside.
Marinate peeled shrimp, with juice of half lemon, salt & pepper, finely chopped jalapeño, and garlic clove and a generous dousing of hot sauce. Mix, cover, and refrigerate while grits cook and stock simmers.
When grits are almost ready, add a film of oil to non-reactive (but not non-stick) skillet, sauté pancetta (or other pork product) until crisp, set aside and sauté the minced shallot in the same fat. At this point, add 1 Tablespoon butter and mix with 1 Tablespoon flour until flour bubbles. Turn heat to highest setting and add shrimp and marinade liquid, briefly stir and add stock to quickly reduce while taking care not to cook the shrimp beyond just turning pink (1-2 minutes). Ladle grits into 2 bowls and top with contents of shrimp sauté.