My Chef's Hat - Crispy Shrimp with Ginger-Orange Glaze on Toasted Israeli Couscous

I'm trying to incorporate more shrimp into my diet.  It's low in calories and really healthy.  Plus it's super versatile...grilled, baked, fried, steamed...you name it, I love it.  But for some reason I hardly ever make it at home.  I found this great-looking recipe the other day on Pinterest (surprise, surprise), and decided to try it out... crispy shrimp with ginger-orange glaze on toasted Israeli couscous. 

There's a lot of ingredients for the 3 parts--sauce, couscous, and shrimp.  If I had been paying attention I could have done more of it at the same time and sped up production by at least half. But I was doing laundry at the same time and got a little distracted.

Here is the recipe version:

And my version:

I was a little heavy-handed with the cayenne pepper in the sauce, and unfortunately all the crispy panko deliciousness didn't stay on the shrimp when I took them out of the pan.  But those are both easy fixes.  In the past I had always only made regular couscous because it's faster, but I really like the texture and taste of the pearl couscous; and it's even better when it's toasted.  On the blog where I found the recipe she said she used Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain Blend, a blend of Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa.  I think I'll try adding in some quinoa next time.  I bought some the other day and haven't figured out what to do with it yet.

This dish is definitely a keeper!  It's light, refreshing, and very flavorful. 


Recipe found on Eat. Drink. Smile.