Brown Butter Sage Sweet Potato Grits - Reimagining A Bahamian Staple

Grits is a big part of Bahamian cooking. It is a simple yet hearty breakfast staple that is usually paired with cold tuna salad, fried then steamed sausage (bologna), sauteed sardines or as a side for dishes like stew conch and boiled fish, or even as a main course (conch and grits).

It is my ultimate comfort food, and I have recently been experimenting with different ways to prepare it. 

In The Bahamas, grits is usually a savory food and sweet grits is not popular. But, I have seen sweet variations for sweet potato grits - usually made with cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. I had never tried it, but it gave me an idea for a savory sweet potato grits.

Below is the recipe for a Brown Butter Sage Sweet Potato Grits. I’ve made this several times recently and it turned out great each time.

I also highly recommend experimenting with grits - aka the ultimate Bahamian staple.

The below recipe is for one hearty portion, but this is easy to scale up. A good guide is 1 part grits to 4 parts liquid (in this case 1 part grits, 3 parts water and 1 part cream aka evaporated milk.)

Brown Butter Sage Sweet Potato Grits

• 1/2 cup Yellow Grits

• 1/2 medium Sweet Potato (yam) (optional: use 1/4 sweet potato. If adding the extra sweet potato, cook the grits with an additional 1/8–1/4 cup of water)

• 1 3/4 cups Water

• Sage leaves

• Salmon (optional)

• 1/4 Red Onion

• 2 tbsp Butter

• Salt (to taste)

• 1/4 cup Evaporated Milk

1. Cook the sweet potato ahead of time in the oven, air fryer, or microwave. Mash thoroughly.

2. In a pan, add water, milk, two sage leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil and immediately stir in the grits. Let simmer for a minute or two, then reduce the heat to low and cover.

3. Once the grits are cooked, stir in the mashed sweet potato. Mix until smooth.

4. In a separate pan, melt the butter and let it brown slightly. Add the sage leaves and allow them to crisp (this should take about 1–2 minutes). Remove the sage leaves and set aside.

5. Add onions to the sage butter and cook until soft.

6. Serve the grits immediately. Top with a pat of butter, crispy sage, and sage onions. This dish pairs beautifully with broiled salmon. (I used the Trader Joe’s Aglio e Olio seasoning on the salmon and cooked at 400 degrees in the air fryer.)

   
   

Note: I am a home cook and not a professional chef. Exact seasoning amounts and cooking times are determined by tasting, smelling and checking on the dish as it cooks.