Israeli Couscous Salad With Roasted Shrimp...

One of my new favorite things to eat is Israeli couscous salad. It's not your typical crunchy, green salad; much heartier with lots of protein. The key elements are items I discovered at Trader Joe's a while ago.

The first thing is their Misto all Griglia (frozen grilled eggplant and zucchini) and the second is Israeli couscous. You can find other recipes in this blog that use these wonderful ingredients. There is also another version of an Israeli couscous salad I made a few months back.

If these ingredients aren't accessible, you can always use orzo instead of the Israeli couscous and grill up your own veggies.

I will be eating this all summer!

Israeli Couscous Salad With Roasted Shrimp

• 1 lb shrimp (21-25 per pound size); deveined, shells removed but tails left on; rinsed in cold water and dried well with paper towels
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic 
• 8 oz (1/2 lb) of Israeli couscous or orzo, cooked according to package directions and allowed to cool
• juice of 1 medium-sized lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• package of Trader Joe's frozen grilled eggplant and zucchini (or 2 cups of grilled veggies of your choice); defrosted, drained and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup of feta or goat cheese, crumbled
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, drizzle the shrimp with olive oil, add the garlic and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Then spread out your shrimp onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

When the oven has reached 450 degrees, roast them in the oven for 6-7 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a large serving bowl whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together. Add the couscous, grilled veggies and shrimp and fold together gently until just combined, over-mixing will make everything clump and get pasty. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the feta and pine nuts evenly on top.