Shrimp with Cuban Polenta and Guajillo Salsa

This is my take on shrimp and grits, using a Cuban style polenta recipe from Gran Cocina Latina and a salsa from Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday. 

Guajillo Salsa (makes ~3/4 cup):

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 guajillo chilis, stems removed

4-6 (1/2 lb.) tomatillos, husked, washed and halved

3 cloves garlic, peeled

Salt

Remove the stems from the chilis and remove the seeds if you wish. I left some of them in for additional spice. Heat a pan over medium, add the oil and the chilis. Cook the chilis for about 30 seconds per side. Remove, cut into a few pieces and add to a blender jar.

Add the tomatillos and garlic to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until the tomatillos and garlic get some color on them, then flip and repeat. Add to the blender jar.

Blend the mixture into a liquid. Season with salt and refrigerate to store.

Sofrito:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 large tomatoes (12 oz.), peeled, seeded and diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, mashed with a mortar and pestle, or finely chopped and mashed

1 teaspoon salt

For our purposes, this will make a bunch of extra sofrito, but you can use the leftovers in all sorts of dishes, so just make the full recipe.

Heat the oil in a 12” pan until it shimmers. Add the garlic, sautee for 20 seconds, then add the onions and cook until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and the fat is separated from the solids and starts to shimmer again.

Polenta (for 2):

¾ cup coarse yellow cornmeal (polenta)

2 ¼ cup water

Salt

Bring the water to a boil in a medium pan, add some salt, then slowly add the cornmeal. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Ladle in 1 cup of sofrito and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt if needed.

Shrimp (for 2):

12 to 16 medium shrimp, deveined, shelled (tails on)

1 ½ sticks of butter (may need more depending on pan)

Salt (if using unsalted butter)

1 tbsp water

Cilantro

Heat 1 tbsp of water to a boil in a medium pot, whisk in the butter in a few additions to emulsify.  Add salt if using unsalted butter. Bring to a simmer, add the shrimp (make sure you have enough butter to cover the shrimp) and cover, simmering for 3 minutes.

Remove shrimp from butter and serve on top of polenta. Spoon some salsa on top and garnish with cilantro.