On a vacation in Savannah, GA many years ago, we ate a restaurant called Belford’s. I ordered one of their signature dishes and reviewed the restaurant and my meal here: Shrimp, Greens and Grits at Belford’s. I remade this as best as I could and it turned out pretty good. You can see that recipe here: Shrimp, Greens & Grits (copy cat recipe from Belford’s in Savannah, GA) Recently I had some of the same ingredients and was inspired to make a “quick and easy” version of the copycat recipe of the meal I had in Savannah. This one came together for me in 30 minutes.

First, shrimp take like 2 minutes to cook through, so that helps. You should do those last. Good grits take 25-30 minutes so I started those first. In my copycat, I made pan fried grit cakes and a sherry cream sauce, both of which take time. I just used plain white grits and made this quick, hack Anchovy Cream. My copycat also had you toss the shrimp with Pecorino Romano cheese, bacon, tomatoes and green onions. In this one, I added the cheese into the sauce and used the bacon, tomato and green onion as the garnish for the whole dish. I also cooked the bacon in the microwave instead of the oven. Not ideal but did save a lot of time.

I lightened this whole dish up by not using bacon fat or butter, which we all know makes most things better. I also purposefully under seasoned the shrimp, greens and grits knowing that the sauce was the main seasoning and would tie the meal together. It did.

The one bad thing with this meal is I dirtied 2 sauce pans (grits and sauce), a large pan (shrimp) and a large pot (greens). Cleaning took all the time I saved with the shortcuts but it happens. 🤣

Ingredients

Ingredients for Grits

• 1 cup stone ground grits (we like Marsh Hen Hill or Anson Mills)
• 2 cups water
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for Anchovy Cream Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp AP flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 cups half and half, I used Almond/Coconut creamer
• 1-2 tbsp, Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for Sauteed Kale and Swiss Chard

• 1 bunch for kale, stems removed, chopped
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed, chopped 
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for Shrimp

• Fresh local shrimp, 1 lbs, peeled and deveined (we used Broadwater Shrimp Co.)
• 2 strips Applewood Smoked Bacon (we like Niman Ranch), cooked in the microwave and chopped
• Local Heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered or halved
• Green onion, sliced on the bios
• Salt to taste

Instructions

How to make Stone Ground Grits

1. Add 3 cups of water to a medium sauce pain and bring to a boil.
2. Whisk in grits and season with a pinch of salt.
3. Return to a boil for a minute then reduced to a simmer and cover.
4. Stir often. Add more water if needed. Cook about 25-30 minutes.
5. Keep warm.

How to make a Anchovy Cream Sauce

1. Add 2-3 tbsp of olive oil in a small sauce pan and heat over medium high heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, whish in 2-3 table spoons of flour and garlic powder. Continue whisking until combined and the color turns blonde.
3. Slow add the chicken stock while whisking. It will thicken quickly just keep adding stock until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
4. Whisk in anchovy paste until thoroughly combined.
5. Whisk in the half and half cream until combined.
6. Whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until melted and combined.
7. Reduce to a light simmer until it reaches desired consistency.
8. Add lots of cracked black pepper to taste.
9. Taste and season with salt if needed.
10. Cover and keep warm.

How to make Sauteed Kale and Swiss Chard

1. Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add the kale and Swiss chard, crushed red pepper and garlic powder.
2. Toss greens to coat and cook until slightly wilted. Season with salt and add 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar. Toss to combine, reduce heat to low and cover.
3. Keep warm until serving.

How to make Shrimp

1. Make sure the shrimp are dry before cooking.
2. Heat a large pan to medium high heat. Coat pan with olive oil.
3. Season shrimp lightly with salt.
4. Once the pan is hot, add shrimp to pan. Cook until they just start to curl.
5. Flip the shrimp and depending on your pan, kill the heat and allow the shrimp to cook just through. Don’t over cook. The shrimp should not be transparent but not fully curled. A “C” shape means they are done.

Plating Shrimp, Greens and Grits with Anchovy Cream

1. Each component of this meal is good standing alone but the idea is all the components together are better. The anchovy cream sauce is designed to enhance and season the whole dish.
2. Add the shrimp, green and grits to the plate. Sauce each component with the anchovy cream. Garnish with bacon crumbles, cherry tomatoes, green onion and a little extra Pecorino Romano cheese.
3. Enjoy!

Did you try this meal? Let us know in the comments. Check out our other Copycat Recipes or Shrimp Recipes. Please consider following us on IG, X, FB, PI or TT.