Fried polenta and shrimp sounds like a fancy meal that might take a while to make, but if you listen to my advice, you can make this great recipe for an easy weeknight meal. I once had polenta and shrimp at a restaurant before all this covid stuff and I fell in love. I had never heard of polenta and always wondered what it was. Well, truth be told it is nothing but corn!!! A coarsely ground corn north Italian dish.
Ingredients for an easy weeknight meal.
Now depending on how many people you are trying to feed, the amount of each ingredient will differ of course. I made this recipe for three people and had some leftovers. So I guess you could make it for four. I bought two rolls of polenta which only cost me about $2.50 each from Wal-Mart. I also got a 2 lb bag of frozen raw shrimp. You can get any kind you like, but I should have bought an already peeled shrimp. I bought an easy-peel bag from Sam’s for $15. You will also need a large can of chunky tomato sauce, which again Wal-Mart has cans for $0.72 and I used just one, but I think two would have been better. You also need some oil, salt, and pepper to taste and you cannot forget the parmesan cheese.
How to make an easy weeknight meal?
My first advice to you is to use a deep fryer or go modern and use an air fryer. The reason I say that is Polenta is very hard to pan fry. For one thing, it sticks and if your slices are not the right thickness all the way through, when you try to flip to the other side it is bound to break up. So first things first, keep your polenta refrigerated until you are ready to use it. Slice the polenta about 1/2″ thick and try to keep the slices equal. You can pan-fry them on medium-high heat, but it takes quite a long time. Fry the slices until the edges are brown. Remove the fried rings from the pan and keep them warm. Then try or cook the shrimp until pink. And you know shrimp cooks in no time. Once that is done pour the chunky tomato sauce over the shrimp and stir until hot.
How to serve an easy weeknight meal?
Place some rings of the already fried polenta on a plate and put some shrimp and sauce over it. Then sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese on top. Or you can do what I did and put some salt and pepper on the shrimp for taste. Now if it was just me I would probably go further and either cook the shrimp with some butter and garlic or just sprinkle garlic salt on top, but some of my family members do not like garlic!!! Who does not like garlic? Anyway, that is the total sum of what you have to do and it only costs you $20-25 to feed four people.
Wine pairing for an easy weeknight meal!
You can pair this delicious meal with either White or Rose wine. Since I get my wine delivered to my door I paired this meal with our incredible “More than Muse” Rose Wine. Floral notes with a rich salmon hue, strawberry and papaya join with a hint of hibiscus all delivered by my Wine Ambassador, my Wine Club. All I can say at this point is BON APPETITE!!!