Shrimp Creole Couscous

Shrimp Creole Couscous, a shrimp casserole.

I spied this recipe in an older copy of Cooking Pleasures. I'd always skipped it since it called for Israeli couscous since I was sure it'd be impossible to find. When I found it by accident at the store, on sale no less, I turned to this recipe immediately.

Shrimp Creole Couscous

3 tbsp butter, softened, divided

1 c chopped onion
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c chopped celery
2 large garlic cloves, minced, divided
1 1/2 c reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 (14 1/2-oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 lb. shelled, deveined uncooked medium shrimp
1 1/2 c Israeli couscous
1 1/2-2 c boiling water
3/4 c unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in large saucepan over medium heat.

It looks like I may have used 1 tablespoon of butter.

Add onion, bell pepper, celery and 1 of the garlic cloves to saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat 5 minutes or until softened.


Add broth, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Remove from heat.


Meanwhile, boil water in a saucepan; add couscous and cover. Let stand 5 minutes.

Drain off excess water; stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter.

Spread couscous into baking dish; stir shrimp into sauce.


Immediately ladle shrimp mixture over couscous.

In small bowl, stir together bread crumbs, remaining 1 garlic clove and parsley; sprinkle over casserole.

Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes or until topping is crusty and sauce is bubbly. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf before serving.



I wasn't sure what to expect from a couscous and shrimp casserole -- I loved it!  Certain the couscous would become tiny, swollen, too-soft pasta grains, I was quite surprised they were still al dente even after the baking time.  Even more worrisome was the texture of the shrimp, absolutely sure they'd be rubbery after baking, they turned out just fine, not overcooked at all.  Maybe I just got lucky?

While it looks like a lot of work due to multiple steps, it was much easier to put together than any lasagna.  Like lasagna though, it's worth it to do the steps. 

Rodney, surprisingly, said he didn't care for this recipe as he dramatically picked out the red peppers.  That was disappointing since I'd purchased red instead of green specifically for his green pepper (of any sort) intolerance.  I'm not sure I can handle skipping red bell peppers in addition to all green peppers.  Hopefully, he was just in a crotchey mood.     

Cost:

• onion: $0.50
• red bell pepper: $0.68
• celery: $0.79
• fresh thyme: $1.99
• diced tomatoes: $0.8
• shrimp: $6.99
• Israeli couscous: $2.29
• bread crumbs: $0.2
• fresh parsley: $0.50

Total: $14.74 or $2.46 for each of 6 servings.