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Creamy, dreamy, these rice grits are amazing!! You know, to be included in a MARY’s secret ingredients box, we test each product beforehand to ensure it’s super delicious, easy to make, healthy and good for you. These Delta Blues Rice Grits came in and due to timing and scheduling issues, the only time I had to make them was for breakfast one morning while having a FaceTime call with my son in Poland. Did I tell you he won a Fulbright?!! Yes, we’re so proud of him but now he’ll be in Poland for the next 14 months. So thank goodness for FaceTime!

So I am making and eating rice grits at 7 am in the morning and you know what, I couldn’t stop eating them, even at that time of day! By just following the packaging instructions, which is just the same as making regular rice, they came out so creamy and super, super yummy. So what are rice grits? Well they’re the leftover broken rice bits and I’ll tell you what, I’ll take these any day over the whole rice grain!

Now we all love risotto but it needs stirring attention and it‘s not a great thing to make for a dinner party if you want to spend time with your guests. But with these rice grits being so creamy to begin with, I reworked my recipe to create this super Quick & Easy Asparagus Risotto with Delta Blues Rice Grits. I know you’ll like it as much as we did!

QUICK & EASY ASPARAGUS RISOTTO WITH DELTA BLUES RICE GRITS  – serves 4

4 cups chicken broth – preferably homemade, divided
1 cup of Delta Rice Grits
1 lb. asparagus, broken at the point of tenderness to remove tough ends, and then each stalk cut into 1.5” pieces
Coarse sea salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided
½ of a medium red onion, diced
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup (heaping) grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Combine 2 cups of broth and 1 cup of Delta Rice Grits in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 18 minutes. Then remove from heat and uncover. There will be some liquid left and that’s okay.

Meanwhile, while the rice grits are cooking, take a small saucepan and fill with ½ of the asparagus stems (only half of the stems – leave all the tips) and cover with water. Salt the water with coarse sea salt. Bring to a boil, uncovered and reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until the stems are very tender. Test with a fork. Drain quickly and place in an ice cube bath to stop the cooking. Drain and place stems in a food processor. Pulse to a puree. Stop and add a tablespoon (or maybe two) of cold water to make a smooth puree.

At the same time, melt 1 Tbs. of unsalted butter in 2 Tbs. of olive oil. Add diced red onion and cook until softened for about 5 minutes on medium low heat. Raise heat to medium-high and add ½ cup dry white wine.

Simmer until almost gone and then add 2 cups of chicken broth and the rest of the asparagus. Saute for 4 – 5 minutes just until the asparagus is crisp tender.

Add the cooked Delta Rice Grits and the asparagus puree and simmer for about 2 minutes while stirring and mixing together. Remove from heat and add 2 Tbs. butter (cut into small chunks) and the heaping ½ cup of Pecorino Romano cheese. Stir vigorously to combine, season with fresh cracked pepper, garnish with basil if you wish, and serve with LOVE!

Our fall box ships on September 25th and you won’t want to miss it! The supply is limited so best to order now before we run out. 🙂