Grits are not paleo, but groots are. Groots are our take on grits, Paleo style. It’s celery root, hence the g-roots, pureed with a little fat and some stock. Oh how creamy, dreamy it is. It has a slight celery flavor, but a texture similar to creamy grits. All you non-Southerners out there, grits are ground up corn–prepared like rice, but takes literally 5 minutes to cook–think polenta.
Ingredients
- 1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp
- 2 medium sized celery roots
- 1/2 c chicken, beef or veggie stock
- 6 slices bacon
- 1/2 onion
- 2 gloves garlic
- 1 T tomato paste
- 1 T chili garlic sauce (any other hot sauce will do)
- 2 oz cheese (optional)
- 1 T minced thyme
- S&P
Method
Cut the ends off the celery roots and slice the skin off (see pics). Slice the root into 1/3’s, then rotate and slice into thick sticks, then slice into rough squares. Toss the roots into a pot of salted water and boil until softened, about 10 minutes. Get out your blender and place the roots inside, along with the stock, cheese and 2 T of bacon fat from the saute pan (see below). Pulse until you reach a smooth consistency. Stir it around and/or add more stock if the mixture isn’t cooperating. S&P to your liking.
Cook your bacon in a saute pan. Once it’s browned, remove the bacon and crumble. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the shrimp, tomato paste, thyme and hot sauce. Cook until the shrimp have turned pink.
Place the “groots” into a bowl, add shrimp, crumbled bacon and many, many spoonfuls of the tomato gravy.
24 Comments
brandon keatley
April 13, 2010 at 9:52 amif anyone is wondering, a little google-ing has turned up that 1C celery root has about 9g carbohydrates vs. 1C of corn grits at about 31g carbohydrates (aside from the grain issue)
emily
April 14, 2010 at 11:57 amsweet, i have a celery root languising away in my fridge, and wasn’t sure what to do with it.
Beth and Brian
April 20, 2010 at 5:14 amMaybe I bought tiny celery roots, but we were short on “groots” with the 3 that I bought. Wondering if cauliflower would work as well (and be less expensive). Awesome dinner and super flavorful shrimp!
megan keatley
April 20, 2010 at 2:45 pmi’ve tried to make cauliflower mash two times, both being inedible. the mash was more like granules–never a smooth consistency and the cauliflower never seemed to absorb liquid, so it was weeping out. if you can get it to the right consistency, i definitely think it would work great with the shrimp. let me know if you find success!
another idea, you could try to stretch out the celery root puree by adding more stock.
TheFoodee.com – SATURDAY 11.01.29
January 29, 2011 at 12:14 pm[…] 11.01.29 Paleo Shrimp & Groots […]
AustinGirl
January 31, 2011 at 1:29 pmMade this last night. Yet another home-run from you guys. Not only was this really easy to make but its even better today, now that all the flavors have had a chance to marry! YUM!!
Keira
February 7, 2011 at 1:16 pmI want to try the groots, but we don’t eat a lot of shrimp. What could I make to go with it instead?
Christie
February 10, 2011 at 2:04 pmBeing a die hard southern, low country cuisine lovin’ girl, I can’t wait to try this. My suggestion if someone can’t eat shrimp is to try it with scallops (which are also a shell fish so might not work). Next would be a white fish such as flounder or grouper.
Anthony D
March 16, 2011 at 10:29 pmGroots great… and I don’t even like grits. Modified it slightly and substituted frogs legs in a spicy black bean sauce for the shrimp.
Jimmy
March 17, 2011 at 9:05 pmEating this as I type! Absolutely wonderful! I loved the Groots! I might make some this weekend and have them for breakfast with some honey!
Foodology 101
July 1, 2011 at 3:29 pm[…] SHRIMP AND GROOTS From Health-Bent […]
Scotty
November 14, 2011 at 11:26 pmMy grocery didn’t have celery root, so I used parsnip instead. It turned out wonderful! Thanks for the great recipe. I can’t wait to try it with celery root.
megan keatley
November 17, 2011 at 11:10 amvery cool. never though a/b using parsnip. thanks for the inspiration!
Scotty
December 7, 2011 at 10:53 pmTried it tonight with celery root. It was good with parsnip, but the celery root rocked! I liked it better than actual grits. The celery root just gives the dish it another dimension. Thanks again for the recipe.
megan keatley
December 20, 2011 at 10:22 amnice. you’re very welcome scotty.
Elaine
March 6, 2012 at 8:34 pmA-MAZ-ING! The celery roots at our Wegman’s were looking a little sorry this week, so I subbed mashed butternut squash. The slight sweet and creamy was a great compliment to the crunchy salty bacon and tasty shrimp! Definitely a keeper 🙂
megan keatley
March 7, 2012 at 11:45 amyeah, it’s hard to find fresh and inexpensive celery root. our grocery store has ’em for $5/lb and that’s just ridiculous…so great sub idea for sure!
Angie
May 28, 2012 at 11:12 amJust made this last night…Major home run! Thanks for the delicious recipe. Although my arm is sore from chopping the celery root! 🙂
megan keatley
May 31, 2012 at 11:58 amhahaha. so worth it though! thanks angie!
Kristin
June 10, 2012 at 2:40 pmThis recipe was ridiculously delicious! The end texture of the celery roots are amazing and they taste much better than actual grits! Thanks for the recipe!
Kim
September 3, 2012 at 7:13 pmMade this for dinner tonight…delish! Couldn’t find celery root so I used jicama and the same method as above. Worked great!
Katherine B.
January 4, 2013 at 2:16 amThanks for the idea! We’re still getting into the whole idea of a paleo lifestyle at my house and my mom is panicking over certain things, so it’s great to know that I can substitute something for grits, since it’s a favorite of hers (well, all of ours).
Alexis
February 20, 2013 at 9:54 pmHow many servings is this?
Brett Deutscher
May 30, 2013 at 9:10 pmYUMMY YUMMY!!! I made it with cauliflower mash as there was no celeriac in the store today…
Hard to believe this way of eating can be good for me but I’m willing to try when it all tastes this great!!! And I feel very satisfied–didn’t miss a starch at all.
Thanks!