20-minute shrimp dish would please Bubba Blue
Shrimp wins as America’s favorite seafood in polls year after year. You know those scenes in the film “Forrest Gump” where Pvt. Bubba Blue rambles through all the ways it can be prepared? I think I’ve had them all.
This 20-minute dish ranks high on my list. I could eat it once a week, warm or as cold leftovers.
It starts with a bag of frozen, U.S. wildcaught shrimp, one of the most versatile ingredients you can have on hand. Your shrimp will probably come with tails on, which you should pull right off, for ease of eating.
You have only a few things to chop, and in a few minutes you create a pan sauce of butter, garlic and lemon juice that flavors the shrimp. We like adding ground turmeric for the sunny color and subtle flavor it brings, but you can leave it out. We like using no-salt-added beans here, because who needs the extra sodium? But if you have the regular kind, they will work fine. Just be sure to taste before adding more salt to the finished dish.
Pearled couscous, which are small beads of toasted wheat pasta (as opposed to the small-grain kind) goes into that happy jumble.
LEMONY SHRIMP WITH WHITE BEANS AND COUSCOUS
10 ounces plain pearled couscous (Israeli) 1¾ cups boiling water 2 cloves garlic 4 scallions 1 pound medium peeled and deveined shrimp, defrosted
1 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added cannellini beans 4 to 6 stems parsley (curly or flat-leaf) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ lemon 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed 1 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional) Freshly ground black pepper
Place the couscous in a mixing bowl. Add the boiling water and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let it sit while you prep the remaining ingredients.
Chop the garlic and scallions.
If the shrimp are tail-on, discard the tails. Rinse and drain the beans. Coarsely chop the parsley leaves (to taste).
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then stir in the garlic and scallions. Reduce the heat to medium; add the shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes, just until they are no longer translucent. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Add the beans and parsley, then squeeze in 2 tablespoons of juice from the lemon half. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, the salt and the turmeric, if using. Stir to incorporate; season lightly with the pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, tossing gently, making sure the butter has melted.
Uncover and fluff the couscous, then stir it into the pan until the sauce is evenly distributed. Taste, and add more salt, as needed. Serve warm.
PER SERVING: 530 calories; 11 g total fat; 6 g saturated fat; 205 mg cholesterol; 450 mg sodium; 72 g total carbohydrates; 4 g dietary fiber; 37 g protein.