Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

It's my ongoing quest to, slowly but surely, like seafood more and more. I can't say I've always been the biggest fan. As a kid, I really disliked the smell of seafood. Walking through the seafood isle at the grocery store was a struggle. Annual family vacations to the Oregon coast often consisted of trips to the fresh seafood market - where I would wait outside and try to avoid the wafts of oysters, crab, and goodness-knows what else with scales. Clam chowder was always a terrifying mystery...there could be a big chunk of rubbery clam in there that I don't know about! That being said, I have grown-up a little (I think), and I'm more openminded when it comes to seafood.

Being willing to try various seafood is one thing; cooking it is another. Hence, I thought it was time to cook some shrimp. The big ones. With tails. Make fun if you want to...I know it does not sound like a big feat, but I was proud of myself. (Ha.)

Now. I was drawn to this recipe because the shrimp are marinated and coated in a green herb sauce, which sounded like the perfect thing. Plus, basil, feta, zucchini...what a wonderful combination.

Green herb shrimp with zucchini couscous

As adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups diced zucchini (about 4 medium)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat couscous
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for herb sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 green onions, white and light green parts, chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 2 limes

In a food processor, combine all sauce ingredients and blend until fairly smooth with a few herb flecks. Put half of the sauce in a bowl along with the shrimp and set aside to marinate for 1 hour, reserving the other half of the sauce. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and sauté until edges are browned, 8-10 minutes. Cook couscous according to package instructions. Transfer couscous to large mixing bowl and add zucchini, remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the basil, crushed red pepper flakes, feta, and vinegar. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large skillet (or alternatively, a grill) over high heat. Cook shrimp until they just turn pink, flipping halfway through, about 6 minutes. Toss cooked shrimp in remaining herb sauce and serve with zucchini couscous.

Well. I can say that I learned something by making these shrimp. My amateur tidbit is this: if you are going to cook shrimp that are coated in sauce, make sure to remove any excess sauce instead of dragging them through additional sauce, prior to cooking. That way, your sauce won't cook faster than your shrimp. I think this could definitely be applied to cooking any fish or meat in sauce. Just a good tip. Maybe I'm alone on this one, but it was a lesson that I had to learn.

In conclusion, this shrimp was delicious. The herb sauce is so colorful and vibrant, and could really be used on other types of fish as an alternative. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I actually enjoyed these shrimp. And I don't always enjoy shrimp. Shrimp lovers and not so very shrimp-loving readers, this recipe will not disappoint. Give it a try.

Shredded beef tacos

Creative tacos and quesadillas have become one of my favorite go-to meals. I think it's because there is so much you can do with them. And soft tortillas are the way to go with tacos, I think. A nice, soft tortilla toasted up in the oven or in a hot pan. It's just right. I like to buy a variety of 6-inch tortillas such as multigrain, corn and whole wheat blends, etc.

I was so excited to open up Might Spice Cookbook, a gift from my mother-in-law, this Christmas. The pictures are beautiful. And the shredded beef tacos from this cookbook are beautiful.

Shredded beef tacos

Adapted from Mighty Spice Cookbook - Fast, Fresh and Vibrant Dishes Using No More Than 5 Spices for Each Recipe

Serves 4. 

Ingredients:

1lb. 2 oz. skirt steak

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 green jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

a pinch of sugar

8 6-inch tortillas, heated

scant 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (optional)

1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded

4-6 radishes, thinly sliced

3 oz. feta cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Add beef, turn heat down to low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until beef is cooked through. Remove beef from water and set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes, or until onion is golden. Add tomatoes, oregano, thyme, jalapeño, vinegar, tomato paste, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 20 minutes, or until mixture gets thick. Flake cooked beef and add to pan with tomato sauce. Turn up heat to medium and cook 3-4 minutes until beef is hot. To assemble tacos, place heaping tablespoon of beef into middle of tortillas with a bit of Greek yogurt. Scatter on lettuce, radishes, and feta, and enjoy.

I used some skirt steak I had leftover and frozen from another recipe. I also opted to top my tacos with some Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, as the recipe suggests. 

The beef and tomato mixture was so delightful. This sounds kind of funny to say, but Zack and I thought it almost tasted like beef bolognese. Must have been the oregano and thyme that gave the dish this influence? That being said, these were delicious. The beef is so flavorful, the lettuce adds crunch, and the radishes give it a slightly bitter bite that is really growing on me. "Mighty Spice" was mighty good. You'll be seeing more recipes from this cookbook in the near future.

You regular readers may have noticed that I am now including the recipes, typed-out, in my actual post. That way, you can see adaptations I have made to the recipes. Exploratory, right? And here is a link to the original recipe, for your convenience: Shredded beef tacos.

See you back here, soon. Cheers.

Tomato-Feta Spaghetti

This is a great dish from Cooking Light's Way to Cook Vegetarian. Now I'll be honest in that I am far from vegetarian, but this cookbook that I checked out from the library had some good-looking recipes. Plus, in the case of this particular recipe, I'm a sucker for the classic tomato and basil combination.

The spaghetti recipe really is simple. Just roast halved grape tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or until tomatoes collapse. Cook pasta as usual, reserving some of the pasta water when draining. Return pasta and some reserved liquid to a large pan. Stir in tomatoes, a little more olive oil, salt, fresh basil, ground black pepper, and crumbled feta cheese.

The recipe actually called for ricotta salata cheese, crumbled, but we just used feta because it was what we could find at the store. The feta was really great, but I'm sure ricotta would be also.

I really like roasting or sauteing tomatoes because of the way they collapse, releasing all their juices. When mixed in with pasta, they create a sauce of their own. And they are just so much sweeter when heated up.

Another quick weeknight meal posted. And a good one at that. Cheers.