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5 from 7 votes

Prawns and Cauliflower in a Tomato-Feta Sauce over Couscous

Course: seafood main dish
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Servings: 4 - 6
Author: Susan Pridmore

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.