Make this North African Shrimp with Summer Vegetable Couscous your next meal! Deliciously spice crusted shrimp sits on top of a garlicky roasted summer vegetable couscous. This recipe is perfect for meal prepping in advance. Enjoy it warm or chilled. Serves 4 to 6 in about 40 minutes.
The story of this recipe begins with a road trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan with one of my best friends Heidi.
We trekked west across the mitten to Grand Rapids, to go to a small venue concert. We stopped beforehand for dinner and drinks at Rockwell | Republic. It’s a cool and cozy restaurant that serves up delicious food using ingredients from local area farms.
which if you didn’t know, this is totally my kind of thing.
Heidi and I split a pitcher of the most delicious sangria and shared bunch of apps instead of ordering our own main courses. One of those apps was this smoky North African Shrimp on a vegetable Israeli couscous and yes, it was awesome. I haven’t been able to forget it. The spice crusted shrimp were so intoxicatingly aromatic and flavorful that I was a little sad it was just an appetizer and not an entree (and also that I had to share it 😉).
It was so good that I went home and devised a plan… aka a recipe.
To Make This North African Shrimp You Will Need:
- shrimp
- fresh ginger
- coriander
- cumin
- aleppo pepper
- salt
- turmeric
- olive oil
- fresh lemon juice
- Israeli couscous
- garlic
- zucchini
- summer squash
- red onion
- cherry tomatoes
- black pepper
- fresh parsley
What I love most about this recipe is that so much of it is fresh ingredients!
Aleppo pepper may be a little tricky to locate at your regular grocery store. I order mine online from Penzey’s Spices, but you should be able to find it at most specialty spice shops. Back in the day, I would stop in the Penzey’s by my work while I was on my lunch break. But now ordering online is way easier.
Now let’s COOK!
For the shrimp marinade:
In a big-o-bowl, grate in 1 teaspoon of fresh, peeled ginger root or to save some time, use the pre-grated stuff. Remember, this is a judge free zone. Next measure and add in the 2 teaspoons of ground coriander, 1 teaspoon of cumin and 1½ teaspoons of the aleppo pepper, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric. Just a little FYI, aleppo pepper is smoky and sweet with a subtle heat. It’s not out of control spicy-hot by any means so if you’re a little leery about it, don’t fret.
Think milder, smokier red pepper flakes.
Lastly measure and add in 2 tablespoons of extra light olive oil and whisk it all together to form a paste like consistency.
This right here, smells pretty darn amazing!
Now introduce a pound of shrimp (16/20) to the marinade and toss to coat. Let the shrimp marinade either on the counter for 15-20 minutes or pop into the fridge for a couple hours.
During this time, I like to make the couscous.
Roast the veggies.
Preheat your oven to 400° and place a pint of (washed) cherry tomatoes, 1 sliced (half moon style) yellow summer squash and zucchini and 1/2 a diced red onion. Drizzle the veggies with some olive oil and season with a few pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Use your impeccably clean hands to toss them well so the veggies are coated evenly in the oil. Pop them into your preheated oven and roast for 18 to 20 minutes. I rotate the pan halfway through but leave the veggies undisturbed so the edges can caramelize.
For the couscous:
In a large saucepan measure in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat on medium. Then add in 2 cloves of minced, grated or crushed fresh garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add in the 2-1/2 cups of vegetable broth or stock, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir in 1-3/4 cups of Israeli couscous and replace the lid. Follow the package directions for cooking times but usually it’s around 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Keep in mind, not all of the broth will be absorbed and it should give the couscous a sauce-like appearance.
Cook the Shrimp!
Now in a 10-inch heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high. Once hot, work in batches adding in the shrimp, try not to overcrowd. Allow the shrimp to cook for 2-3 minutes a side, then flip and repeat. Transfer the shrimp to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining shrimp.
Adjust the heat under the pan so the spices don’t burn.
Once all of the shrimp are cooked, reduce the heat to low and drain off any excess oil.
Squeeze in 1/2 a lemon and scrape those browned bits off of the bottom. Add the shrimp back in, toss and heat through and keep warm.
Around the same time, the couscous should be cooked, add it into a large mixing bowl along with the roasted veggies and any of their juices that accumulated in the pan.
Add in 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and gently toss to combine. Season with more salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste.
Gorgeous!
Spoon some of the summer vegetable couscous onto a plate and top with 5 or 6 of the North African shrimp and more minced parsley for garnish.
First thing, I really love this recipe. It’s not quite like Rockwell’s version but it was so good that I don’t even care. SO much flavor! And secondly, this is good warm or cold. I took chilled leftovers to the beach and they were delicious cold! This recipe is also great for meal prepping for the week – you’re welcome.
So so in food-love with this North African Shrimp recipe. Go on and give it a whirl and let me know what you think!
Enjoy! And if you give this North African Shrimp recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
North African Shrimp with Roasted Summer Vegetable Israeli Couscous
Ingredients
FOR THE SHRIMP:
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1½ teaspoons Aleppo pepper, found online and in stores at Penzey's Spices
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking
- 1 pound shrimp, 16/20 shelled and de-veined with tails on or off, thawed if frozen
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
FOR THE COUSCOUS:
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced into half moons
- 1 medium summer squash, trimmed and sliced into half moons
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2½ cups vegetable broth
- 1¾ cups dry, uncooked Israeli couscous
- 1 handful parsley, chopped, plus more for serving
Instructions
FOR THE SHRIMP:
- In a large bowl combine the fresh ginger, coriander, aleppo pepper, cumin, salt, turmeric and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Give that a stir, toss in the shrimp and let that marinate for 15 minutes on the counter or a couple hours in the fridge.
To COOK:
- Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Once hot, work in batches adding in the shrimp, adjusting the temperature as needed. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until a crust forms on each side before removing to a clean plate. Repeat with the remaining shrimp.
- Once the shrimp is cooked, reduce the heat to low and drain any remaining oil left in the pan before squeezing in a little lemon juice and scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the shrimp back into the pan to heat through.
FOR THE COUSCOUS:
- Place the tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash and onion onto a rimmed metal baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with a couple pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Gently toss to coat and place in a 400° oven for about 18-20 minutes. Once roasted, add the veggies and their juices to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic, stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover and reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Follow the package directions for time - usually it's 8 to 10 minutes. Not all of the broth will be absorbed and it should give the couscous a sauce-like appearance.
- Once the couscous is cooked, add it to the bowl with the veggies and add 1/4 cup of chopped parsley. Gently toss to combine and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place a couple of spoonfuls of the roasted vegetable couscous in a bowl and top with a few of the North African shrimp and more minced parsley for garnish.
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THANK YOU in advance for your support!
This looks absolutely delicious!! I sometimes find couscous a bit bland, but I love how you’ve combined it with the garlic and roasted veggies.
I know what you mean, I fee the same about quinoa! But this is so not bland, promise 🙂
This looks so delicious! I love having something so good at restaurant to where you have to make it when you get home.
This is beautiful, sounds delicious and is healthy? Yes, Please!
This is absolutely beautiful! I love the flavors…I kid you not I must try it very, very soon!!!
Thank you Cathy! 🙂
LOL!! I totally laughed at your sound effects statement. It really is HARRRRRD.
Can I just tell you how excited I am to make this dish?! Laurie, this has to be one of my new favs. You are the best!
Noooo YOU are! XO
Mmm! I love the spices in this scrumptious couscous meal, Laurie! It looks so delicious.
This looks unbelievable! I will be on the hunt for Aleppo Pepper asap!
Love these bold flavors! I could eat this up any night of the week!!
I am loving the flavors here! What a yummy meal!
I’m totally dying here. what size srhimp did you use?
Gosh Patricia… I can’t remember! I just bought two pounds worth, they were small-ish without being too small… sorry 🙁
I’ve just realised that your posts haven’t been showing up in my reader for the last couple of weeks – such a treat to go through them all now! The flavours in this sound totally wonderful.
What’s up with that Kathryn? By chance are you using Feedly? I’ve had someone else tell me that.. ugh! Hope you are doing well my friend!
This is the best cooking tutorial I’ve ever seen. Aside from having the best recipe, the tutorial is very detailed with great images. I will bookmark this site. Thanks a lot! I will try this wonderful recipe. 🙂
Thanks Lonnie! You are too kind 🙂
I’m totally behind with intoxicatingly being a word. And least-ly.
This totally reminds me of Morocco. Minus the creep-tastic (also a word) rug vendors and the BMW driving drug peddlers.
This sounds amazing. Love all the spices. I have never actually had Israeli couscous before, need to get on it!
Is there any other pepper that I could use to substitute?
Bianca I would try ancho chili 🙂
What a unique recipe that I’m dying to try! Just by the looks of it, I can already tell how delicious it is! Wow… I’ve always loved shrimps so when it is added in a dish, I get goosebumps, literally! Thanks for showing how it is cooked, will definitely try it once I have all the ingredients because they’re a bit hard to find here in my location. Keep posting more shrimp dishes, will surely come back for more!
I made this for dinner tonight, delicious! And pretty quick to put together. Thanks for another great recipe! I subbed regular red pepper flakes for the aleppo and it had some nice heat.
Then far more friends can easily talk about this issue
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Great! Easy and so flavorful. Decided to try it while trying to figure out what to get at the store on my way home from work! so glad I tried this recipe.
I made this for dinner last night…it was soooo good! Thank you for such a delicious treat. I added mushrooms to the veggie mix (zuc, sqash, onion, cherry tomatoes) and that was a great combo. My non veggie loving teenage son was crazy about the shrimp (husband was a big fan too) – so now I have a lot of roasted veggies leftover – but that is fine. Nice easy side dish to warm up for dinner. We will be enjoying this again in the future. A note to others who may want to try the recipe…nearest Penzeys is 3 hours away…I do mail order my spices from them but try to do a big order before the cooking holidays so I just used 4 parts smoked sweet paprika to 1 part cayenne pepper to use for the aleppo pepper. I will be adding that to my list this fall so that I can make the recipe as is.
Hi Ellen! I’m so glad to hear you liked this meal and thank you so much for coming back and leaving a comment! Have a great day 🙂
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Hi. I cook at the restaurant you ate this dish at. We make it a little different but you get the idea. I like your version of it.
Get out of town! My friend and I LOVED everything we had their and I’m a little envious you know the recipe ha-ha! 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
I LOOOOOVE penzeys Aleppo pepper. I use it on pretty much everything. get some Fox point seasoning from penzeys too and then use the two of those things for all vegetable and potato roasts 🙂
I live in GR and I too am in love with the African shrimp. Unfortunately they recently took it off of the menu so I went searching for a copy cat recipe. I do know that Rockwell’s used an African spice called Berbere in the dish so I used that in my marinade (from Penzey’s as well) and it turned out great. Thanks! And if you’re looking for that authentic Rockwell’s flavor, try the Berbere next time. Beware it is rather spicy!
Damn girl!! This is the real thing… real delicious looking! I already have plans tonight or I’d be making this, but it’ll be on my menu soon… very soon. 🙂
This recipe looks delicious. My husband is allergic to shrimp. Is there another seafood or protein that you think will be a good substitute?
Hi Chelai! I havent tested it yet, but I think salmon or a firm white fish would work. The only change I would make is to leave the filets whole and spread the spice mixture on one side (or both if you have enough) before cooking. Please keep me posted on how this worked for you! Enjoy!
I made this dish with tofu using the same marinade and it was delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Oooh! I never thought to try tofu! How brilliant are you!? I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, Katie! Thanks for taking the time to try it! 🙂
I also had this at RR after driving from Detroit to go to a concert in GR! It was amazing and I can’t wait to make it myself!
I used to get this dish at Rockwell’s all the time, until they took it off the menu. I was desperate so I headed to google to see if anyone had made a copycat recipe and I found this! It is SO good. The only thing I change is that I use an African spice called Berbere because I remembered it from the menu description. Thank you for creating this recipe!