Shrimp and Couscous Stew (Cioppino-style)
A brothy stew full of shrimp, fennel, tomato and aromatics, is made luscious with pearl couscous, and bright with lemon, dill, and Castelvetrano olives (any green olive will do!). It's reminiscent of Cioppino taken up a notch with zesty flavors.
Servings: 4
Calories: 427kcal
Equipment
- 1 3.5 qt dutch oven or any soup/stew pot
Ingredients
- 4 oz pearl couscous or 1 cup
- 1 medium red onion sliced
- 1 fennel bulb sliced can sub celery
- 1 medium carrot chopped
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes or crushed
- 1 cup dry white wine optional i.e. pinot grigio
- 1 quart vegetable broth can sub water
- 1 lb small-medium raw shrimp shelled, deveined
- 20 pitted green olives I love the bright green Castelvetrano, but any will do
- 1/2 lemon zest and juice
- 1/2 bunch fresh dill at least 2 tbsp- reserve some for serving
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
Cook the couscous
- Add 4 oz pearl couscous and 1.5 cups water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low, cooking for 10-15 minutes until most of water has been absorbed. See notes.
- Slice the 1 fennel bulb sliced and 1 medium red onion sliced (reserve the green fennel tops to chop and add with dill)
- Roughly chop 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped and 1 medium carrot chopped.
- Add all to pot with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and saute on medium-high for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add 2 tbsp tomato paste, stir and saute a couple minutes to caramelize the tomato paste, then add the 1 cup dry white wine, 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, and saute 10 minutes to evaporate the wine some.
- Add the 1 quart vegetable broth, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes to taste. Bring to a simmer, then cover and let simmer 20 minutes.
- Add 1 lb small-medium raw shrimp, 20 pitted green olives , 1/2 lemon zested and juiced and 1/2 bunch fresh dill (remember to hold some dill aside for garnish). Bring to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cooked couscous and serve topped with extra zest and dill.
Notes
Couscous - many instructions for cooking couscous recommend toasting the dry couscous beforehand, but I do not prefer that toasted flavor in this stew, so I do not recommend it. Also, once you add the cooked couscous to the stew it will continue to absorb liquid, so if you are not serving and eating the entire recipe the first night, I recommend keeping the couscous separate and ladeling into individual bowls before adding stew, so that the stew keeps its lovely brothiness.
Nutrition
Calories: 427kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 2374mg | Potassium: 869mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 175mg | Iron: 3mg | Magnesium: 78mg | Net Carbohydrates: 38g