Celeriac Rice Grits

15 minutes prep 40 minutes active cooking 55 minutes total

Makes 6 - 8 servings

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Rice grits, sometimes called broken rice or middlins, consist of the grains broken during milling.

A poor peoples’ food for millennia in Asia, it’s more recent history here in America is interwoven with slavery. Enslaved rice growers from Africa created the lucrative Carolina rice trade, enslaved people pounded the grains to polish them, and enslaved people ate the broken rice deemed unfit for sale.

Rice grits cook up to a creamy consistency similar to grits, and like many of the cast-off foods poor people were forced to subsist on and make delicious, eventually became desirable. Today’s rice grits come from whole grains broken on purpose.

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 1/2 Carolina gold rice grits
1 2-3lb celeriac, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon + more to taste kosher sea salt
4 cups of vegetable broth
Hot water as needed
2oz, grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 tablespoons of Antheo D.O.P. extra virgin olive oil

Equipment

1 Grater
1 Chef's Knife
1 Cutting Board
2 Sauce Pans
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons

"The clean taste of Carolina Gold rice grits offer a canvas for gravies and sauces of any kind.

I wanted to add flavor with celeriac, one of my favorite vegetables, and, inspired by a technique from a Seattle restaurant, cooked the grits and root vegetable together in a savory broth."

~ Jim Dixon, founder Wellspent and Real Good Food

What you'll have to do

Step 1

Combine 1 1/2 cups of rice grits, the celeriac, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 4 cups of broth in a saucepan. Have another saucepan or kettle of hot water ready.

Step 2

Bring the grits gently to a boil, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. As the grits thicken, add more hot water 1/4 cup at time, stirring and scraping with each addition. Continue to stir frequently.

Step 3

Continue cooking, adding water as needed, until the rice is soft, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Taste and add salt if needed.