Somewhat Southern Shrimp

Ok, so it may not be all that southern, but I grew up in Minnesota.  Polenta, greens, Old Bay seasoning...they are the furthest things from any pantry in our small midwestern town.  

I came across some absolutely beautiful fresh prawns at the store the other day, and although I knew I had some shrimp in the freezer from Costco, these just were calling my name.  Having absolutely no idea how I was going to prepare them, I put them in the refrigerator and headed out to walk the dog. By the time I returned, we were all hungry, so I knew I had to come up with something fast.  I remembered I had some chard that needed to be used, and set to work on making something scrumptious with the fresh shrimp.  This is what I did...

1 lb jumbo prawns, peeled and deveined

small bunch of Swiss chard (or spinach or collards, or other green)

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 small onion, diced

5-6 mushrooms, sliced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

Sprinkle of chili powder

1/2 cup quick cooking polenta

1 Tbsp light butter

2 tsp honey

2 Tbsp cojita cheese

Add olive oil to pan and heat.  Saute onion and celery a few minutes until tender.  Add shrimp and mushrooms and saute a few minutes, then add chard and seasonings.  Meanwhile, cook polenta as package says.  When polenta is thick, stir in butter and honey.  Plate polenta and top with shrimp and veggie mixture.  I sprinkled a little cojita cheese on because, well, everything tastes better with a little sprinkle of cheese. 

We paired this with the 2004 Rutherford Hill Merlot.  It wasn't my first choice of what to pair with the shrimp, but it went rather well.  The sweetness of the honeyed polenta mirrored the jammy  berries and vanilla undertones.  It had just a hint of spice, which was complemented by the dash of chili powder that went into our meal.  While it was good,I'm not sure if we'd get this merlot again, as at the price point of $25, we were expecting a bit more.