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Pimento Cheese Grits

Creamy stone-ground grits folded with a pimento cheese spread, topped with Parmesan and baked until browned.

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Illustration of Pimento Cheese Grits
Illustration

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup stone-ground grits
  • 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup small-curd cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise, or more, to taste
  • 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, diced
  • 1/4 cup juice from dill pickles
  • cayenne pepper, pinch
  • Parmesan, grated, for garnish

Steps

1Make the pimento cheese

  1. In a bowl, fold together 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated.
  2. Fold in 1/2 cup small-curd cottage cheese.
  3. Fold in 1/2 cup mayonnaise, adding more as needed until the mixture is like a thick sandwich spread.
  4. Fold in 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, diced.
  5. Stir in 1/4 cup juice from dill pickles.
  6. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper.

2Cook the grits

  1. Bring 2 cups milk to a boil in a saucepan.
  2. Stir in 1 tsp salt.
  3. Stir in 1 cup stone-ground grits slowly and bring back to a boil.
  4. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the grits thicken to your taste, 10 minutes or so.

3Finish and bake

  1. Remove from the heat and fold in about 1/2 cup of the pimento cheese mixture, until the cheese melts and is incorporated into the grits.
  2. Spoon the grits into an ovenproof casserole dish or individual ramekins.
  3. Sprinkle on grated Parmesan.
  4. Heat in the oven until the cheese melts and browns a bit.