Aromatic sauce of prawns and cauliflower, with clams, chickpeas, tomatoes, and feta served over Israeli couscous. A twist on an Ottolenghi favorite.
Do you buy cookbooks and cook one, maybe two, recipes from them before squeezing them onto a shelf and out of your mind? How about magazines? I'm the worst! I could be considered a hoarder. I have piles of cooking magazines, stuffed with mouth-watering recipes I've yet to try, stacked in places all over the house, and yet whenever I'm standing in line at the grocery, secretly counting the items in the cart in front of me to make sure the woman talking on her cell phone isn't over the 15-item limit, I invariably slip a new cooking magazine into my cart. I can’t resist. They really need less appetizing photos on their covers.
I’m certain that when I die, my family will unlock a storage locker I’ll someday have to rent, only to find thousands of cookbooks and cooking magazines stacked to the ceiling.
One of the few exceptions to this little issue of mine is the Jerusalem cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi. I have two of his other cookbooks, but Jerusalem remains my favorite for now. I've cooked lots of dishes from it over the years, and continue to explore its pages. So when it was my turn to host our #ProgressiveDinner this month, I chose the theme of Middle Eastern and Moroccan food for the group, and leafed through my Ottolenghi cookbooks for inspiration. To pay proper homage to Ottolenghi, and his incredible talent for deliciously eclectic dishes, I modeled this amazing dinner from his Prawns, Scallops & Clams with Tomato and Feta in the Jerusalem cookbook. I made some changes, because I can't help doing that any more than I can help buying a new cooking magazine, but I think he'd be ok with it. I hope you are too.
Cook's Tips:
I cook the shrimp and clams earlier and only add them at the end in the final cooking stage to warm them up.
The entire dish can be made a couple of days in advance, keeping the cooked shrimp and clams packaged separately in your refrigerator. Heat the sauce, cook the couscous, and add the seafood to the sauce at the end.
Don't cheat on the spices, and substitute something else. They make a big difference to the final dish, IMHO.
Harissa is a spicy Middle-Eastern condiment that varies greatly in its heat. Experiment by adding a little at a time. The harissa I used was a mild version!
Prawns and Cauliflower in a Tomato-Feta Sauce over Couscous
Ingredients
Garnish
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 scallions sliced into 2" long pieces about ¾ cup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or a pinch of table salt
Sauce
- ¾ pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 pounds clams cleaned
- 1 ½ tablespoon Chunky Garlic Paste or 1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic
- 3 cups chopped cauliflower ½ head
- 1 red pepper coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup raisins packed
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 28- ounce peeled whole tomatoes
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoons harissa or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- ½ teaspoon dried Valencia orange peel
- 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans chickpeas
- 8 pieces feta cut into ½" squares, plus more for serving
- 2 cups cooked Israeli couscous
Instructions
Garnish
- Heat up the oil in a small pan over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the scallions, and sprinkle with salt. Sauté until soft and browned, tossing only occasionally.
Sauce
- Lightly salt and pepper the shrimp. Heat up 1 tablespoon oil in the same pan used for the scallions, and add the shrimp in batches. Cook for approximately 2 minutes per side. They won't be completely cooked through. When they're added to the sauce, they'll finish cooking.
- Pour the wine into a medium pot over medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the wine to about ¾ cup. Add the clams all at once, and cover the pot. Cook until the clams all open, about 10 minutes. Remove from the broth, and reserve the broth for later.
- Add 3 tablespoons oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot - I use my Le Creuset with great success - over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the cauliflower and red pepper chunks all at once and toss to completely coat with oil and garlic. Sauté until fragrant and slightly soft, about 10 minutes. Add the raisins and cook for an additional 2 minutes, tossing often. There should be a brown coating on the bottom of the pot by now. Add the balsamic vinegar, toss, and scrape up the brown bits from the pot.
- Stir in the tomatoes, and squeeze the tomatoes by hand to tear into pieces. Add the vegetable broth, ½ cup of the reserved clam and wine broth, salt, and harissa.
- Grind the oregano, fennel, and orange peel together using a mortar and pestle. Add to the sauce. Stir in the chickpeas and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to blend the flavors, and add the chunks of feta, cooked shrimp, and cooked clams. Cook for another 5 minutes to slightly melt the feta and warm up the seafood. The shrimp will finish cooking at this stage.
- To serve, spoon ½ cup cooked Israeli coucous on a plate and top with a generous serving of the sauce. Finish with the garnish of cooked scallions.
Jane, The Heritage Cook
O.M.G. Susan, this looks remarkable! I love the flavors, especially the Harissa (one of my favorites) ... it looks a little like a fun spin on our local Cioppinio, LOL. Our intrepid leader this month has created a masterpiece! Brava!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thank you so much Jane!!
Jenni
Gorgeous, gorgeous dish, Susan! I am not a seafood fan, but The Beloved would be all over this! I love the spicing and flavors--so much goodness going on! Thanks so much for hosting this month--such a great theme!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It's a very fun theme for me - thanks so much for joining in, my friend!
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I am totally in love with this. Call it Middle Eastern cioppino in my house and I'll get my Le Creuset pot out in a second to start cooking. 2 Questions -1) I'm a bit confused by the instruction "Stir in the tomatoes, and squeeze the tomatoes by hand to tear into pieces." Do you stir in the canned tomato juice and tea the tomatoes by hand and then drop the pieces in? 2) where do I get the Valencia dried orange peel?
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'll rewrite the tomato part so it's more clear. I was in a bit of a hurry. The sauce gets poured in. I take each tomato in my palm and crush it. It will fall apart right into the pot. No additional tearing is needed. I got the dried Valencia Orange Peel at my local grocery - it's a McCormick spice. Any dried orange peel is fine, if you don't have Valencia. I'd love to hear what you think if you make it.
theresa
I love everything about this dish. I will be making it soon!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Theresa! We really loved it at our house!
Ansh
I love love ottolenghi's books. Love how beautiful this dish turned out!!Thanks for a wonderful theme
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Ansh!!! It's one of my favorite ways to cook 🙂
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I am just like you and have sooooo many cookbooks and magazines...but who can resist, right? I don't have this Ottolenghi cookbook, but if this dish is anything to go by then I definitely 'need' to get it for some inspiration too. This really looks a delicious recipe and so comforting. Yum!
Dorothy Reinhold
I can't wait to cook the chickpeas in the IP. This dish is calling my name!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It's totally the way to go, Dorothy! And this dish is soooooo good!