Date and Olive Couscous With Garlic Shrimp

An interesting and unusual blend of flavors. A little sweet for me. I would cut back on the dates making this again. From the LCBO's Food&Drink, Holiday 2009.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 1 dish

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 2  cups onions, slivered
• 2  cups zucchini, finely diced
• 2  tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  chili flakes
• 2  tfresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2  teaspoons ground cumin
• 3⁄4 cup dates, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄4 cup  roasted black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1 -2  cup couscous, prepared
• 1⁄2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄4 cup of fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1  lemon, juice and zest of
•  salt, to taste

• Garlic Shrimp

• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  chili flakes
• 2  lbs  medium black tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined
•  salt, to taste

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-hight. Sauté onions until golden, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini, garlic, chili flakes, and ginger and continue to cook until zucchini is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in cumin, dates, and olives and warm through.
2. Add warm vegetable mixture to prepared couscous, stir in cilantro, mint, lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine and season with salt to taste.
3. Heat oil in medium frying pan over medium-high.Add garlic and chili flakes, stirring until garlic is fragrant and light golden. Do not let it brown.
4. Add shrimp and sauté until all the shrimp have tust turned pink and are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Season to taste. Top couscous with shrimp, drizzle with olive oil and an additional sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
5. I took a shortcut, using pre-cooked shrimp and throwing them in with the onions in the first recipe (with some extra garlic). I don’t see why this recipe should be two seperate steps.