Lemon Shrimp with Turmeric Apricot Couscous
I always meal prep, but sometimes life gets in the way, I admit it. I let things slide, fall out of routine, and stuffle for a few weeks. Because I know this, I like to have recipes that I can use to avoid the DT. Quick cooking weeknight meals, that still taste delicious. This Lemon Shrimp with Turmeric Apricot Couscous is fresh, and flavourful, and ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes.
What makes a quick weeknight meal?
Honestly, Couscous is always an excellent choice for a quick side dish as it takes only boiling water and 5 minutes to be done. But, it can get boring. Not the case with this recipe. Turmeric and dried apricots are perfectly balanced to create a slightly sweet, fragrant side dish you’ll want to make often.
Shrimp is one of the fastest proteins to cook as well, so it’s a natural partner for couscous. Mussels and Clams are other excellent seafood options. Tofu for a vegetarian option also requires only a very short cook time. Lots of healthy options, that lend themselves to so many different flavours from around the world.
- Spanish
- Portuguese
- Greek
- Arabic
- Thai
- Italian
You can take this basic technique for cooking couscous and seafood and play with the flavours that you enjoy most. I love this kind of cooking!
Getting dinner on the table
While the couscous cooks, you’ll quickly bake the smoked paprika marinated shrimp and assemble a delicious Cilantro Yogurt Sauce to complete the dish. I love how the citrus flavour of the Cilantro melds so well with the lemon in the shrimp, and then you get the surprise pop of sweet from the apricot in the couscous dish.
Let’s get to the recipe shall we!
Lemon Shrimp and Couscous
Ingredients
Apricot Couscous
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ¼ cup dried apricots chopped
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1¼ cup very hot water
Cilantro Sauce
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp hummus
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 1-2 Tbsp water
- Sea salt to taste
Shrimp
- 2 pounds Jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined, tails removed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp olive
Instructions
- Preheat oven broiler to high and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat® mat.
- Combine the couscous, apricots, turmeric, lemon zest and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add very hot water and cover with plastic wrap and let sit until all of the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the yogurt, hummus, fresh cilantro and 1 to 2 T. water in another medium bowl. Season with salt and set aside.
- Toss the shrimp, tomatoes, the remaining 1 T. olive oil and paprika together. Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet and place under broiler until the shrimp is opaque and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with lemon juice.
- Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve with prepared shrimp immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Looking for more shrimp recipes that are delicious, easy to make, and often appear on my weekly meal plans. I hope you enjoy them.
