Sauteed Shrimp With Pantry Romesco Sauce

Doug Mc's Note:

A recipe from my "too tired to cook' collection which is tasty and quick with the ingredients probably already at hand. I used a stale hamburger bun for the bread and regular California almonds. Purists would use blanched Marcona almonds and a portion of a crusty baguette. Red wine vinegar would also be traditionally substituted for the lemon juice but this was what I had available.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 2-4

Yield: 2.0 cups

• ¾ lb shrimp , peeled and deveined
• 1⁄3; cup plain almonds
• 1 (15 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 6 ounces roasted red peppers (1/2 of a 12 ounce jar)
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 slices day-old white bread
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pinch salt
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ cup couscous
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

Directions:

1. Pantry Romesco.
2. Heat almonds in a dry saute pan until they begin to brown slightly. Place the almonds, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, garlic, bread, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and salt in a food processor. Process until pureed and add olive oil to thicken. (If calories are important, cut out or cut back on the oil.).
3. Couscous.
4. Place couscous in a large bowl. Add dried parsley and heated chicken broth (I just added 1 tsp of chicken soup base to 1 cup of boiling water), cover and let sit for five minutes.
5. Saute shrimp in a small amount of oil until pink, add about a cup of the Romesco sauce, stir and serve on top of couscous. Leftover sauce goes into the fridge for fish, eggs, or whatever you wish.