Bacon Mushroom Shrimp with Creamy Cheese Polenta is the comfort dish you crave. I used peppered bacon to give it a kick of spice. The cheesy polenta is the perfect side for this flavorful dish.
Polenta is just ground cornmeal. You can find packages of cornmeal labeled ‘Polenta’ and it’s typically a finer grind than the average bag of cornmeal. I look for Bob’s Red Mill Polenta in the baking aisle of my grocery store. You can sometimes find instant polenta too but I’m pretty partial to making my own.
This is a take on Shrimp and Grits but kicked up a notch. Very simple dish to prepare with very few ingredients. If you can’t tell, I believe in two very simple ingredients that make a dish extra tasty. Butter and bacon. You can never be disappointed with butter and bacon.
I used thick cut black pepper bacon from the deli counter in my local grocery store. It’s adds a little bit of pepper spice to the dish without going over board. Savory, salty, peppery and so comforting.
Wine Pairing Recommendation: I always say to cook with what you drink and drink what you cook with. I used a nice crisp clean Unoaked Chardonnay in this recipe so naturally it’s fitting to pair with that.
Bacon Mushroom Shrimp with Creamy Cheese Polenta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Large Raw Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 slices Bacon, sliced into lardons
- 1 whole Small Onion, chopped
- 2 cups White Button Mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup Dry White Wine
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper, for seasoning
- 1 cup Polenta
- 3 cups Water
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- Chives, chopped for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Heat a medium sized pan over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until slightly crisp and fat is rendered.
- Step 2 Season both sides of shrimp with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Add shrimp to pan with bacon, cook for 2 minutes until shrimp are pink. Remove shrimp and bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Step 3 Pour out excess bacon fat except for 2 tablespoons left in the pan. Add chopped onion and mushrooms to pan and cook until tender and slightly brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine to the pan and deglaze, scrape any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Reduce and add bacon and shrimp back to the pan, stir and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter.
- Step 4 Season with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper to taste.
- Step 5 For the polenta. Boil water in a medium sized pot, whisk in polenta and continuously stir for 15 – 20 minutes until polenta is thick and tender. Turn heat down, and stir in butter and parmesan cheese. Combine until melted. Slowly stir in heavy cream. Season with a pinch of kosher salt.
- Step 6 Serve shrimp on top of polenta and garnish with chopped chives.
Savor and Enjoy!
Do you think this recipe could easily be modified for the instapot?
Hi Dani, I don’t use Instapot so I do not know.