Pearl Couscous With Shrimp and Clams Recipe (2024)

This sounds wonderful, and I'm sure it would be best with the stock prepared as described with the heads and shells of the shrimp. Still. For the lazier among us, would it be a tremendous loss to buy shelled and deveined shrimp, and use clam juice instead of the shrimp heads and shells, and the chicken stock? A cheat, I know, but would it ruin the dish entirely?

Pernod is delightful playmate for shellfish. But be cautious of using "or other similar anise liquer". Because Anisette & so on will be much too sweet. (Ex: Pernod has 1.8 T sugar/C & anise liquers up to 6T.) See link here to Pernod 101 by food scientist Harold Magee. Pernod really has no substitute. I use it in cooking & agree with Prof. Magee "Pernod is best treated gently." See his #5 point.https://www.starchefs.com/pernod/html/pernod_101.shtml

I find clam juice helpful, but salty. Here, I'd wait for a day when you have a bit of extra time. Cleaning a pound of shrimp is not terribly tedious or time consuming. Pop NPR on the kitchen radio and pour a glass of sauvignon blanc and have it...

The difference in buying shell-on vs. shelled shrimp is not about the effort, it's about the flavor. Also, shelled shrimp usually has preservatives added to do the job the shell was doing. I'd rather spend 10 minutes cleaning the shrimp instead of ingesting chemicals. But the true reward is in the flavor.

Loved this recipe. I will say, it took me closer to 2 hours once all was said and done, but I wasn't in a rush while cooking. We used slightly more tomatoes and about double the clams. It was a perfect weekend dinner.

When I am trying to save time with recipes like these, I rely on Better Than Bouillon's lobster base dissolved to taste in a pot of a hot water.

Hi Richard, most grocery stores carry fish stock. It's right near the beef, chicken and veggie stock. Not the same as making it from scratch, but it definitely will be better than clam juice.

This is absolutely delicious as written.

This was excellent. Followed recipe as written except used shrimp shells from 2 lbs shrimp instead of shrimp heads to make stock. 3 of us ate the whole thing.

Great recipe for a celebratory meal to impress. Like others said, it takes up to 2 hours of prep and cooking, so plan ahead and do it not in a rush. We doubled the amount of clams since our local store didn't have shrimps with heads on. Served with broccoli on the side to soak up the extra broth.

While this recipe made an entree that tasted good. It is very particular, very involved, has too many steps and separately prepared components and the time it took to make was not worth the result. There are too many pots, pans, bowls etc. involved a clean-up nightmare. Find a simpler recipe.

Used scallops instead of shrimp and no anise liquor, turned out beautifully! Hubby gave it 5/5!

This was absolutely delicious. I used Ricard rather than Pernod because that's what was in the bar. My tiger shrimp were in the shell, but cleaned. I'd never use clam juice as it's far too salty and doesn't really impart a seafood or briny flavor. It contains tons of salt. If you don't have the time to make a shellfish stock, just use chicken stock. Perhaps up the clams. They impart beautiful briny juiciness!

This is delicious but the prep is unnecessarily fussy. All that wiping out of pans is not worth the effort.

Gorgeous dinner. I had my fish store clean and devein the shrimp and it still took me 1 1/2 hours to put this dish together. Yes,worth it! I used the shrimp shells, no heads (not available). The flavors were complex and satisfying. There was nothing difficult about the recipe, just many discrete steps, but it is long for a weeknight but these days.... The comments prompted me to taste Pernod alongside Ouzo and Anisette. Anisette has an unctuous sweetness; Ouzo is harsh; Pernod is just right.

This a marvelous recipe. I did not change a thing, and agree, do not attempt after a long day at work. The layers of "fennel-ness" are fantastic, from the chopped fennel to the fennel seed oil at the end, just add to the depth of flavor. Making the stock is well worth the effort.

Made this last night, and it was delicious. Such a nice combination of flavors. My husband doesn't care for fennel bulb, so I substituted 1 c chopped onion. I don't love tarragon, so I subbed rosemary sprigs. Also used brown rice b/c I didn't have couscous on hand. Forewent the Pernod - also not on hand - and did not miss it even though I love Pernod flavor. And I added 1.5 c peas. Will definitely make this again.

This recipe is perfection...a rare unicorn. Make it as it’s written and don’t fanny about with silly alterations (ahem Times readers).

Very good, tho liked the similar shrimp bolognese better. Used homemade turkey stock, next time would use boxed, more bland stock:)

For all those who choose to use pre-peeled shrimp: I found sautéing 4 anchovy fillets with the lemon peel, garlic and tarragon plus adding a few dashes of fish sauce to the chicken broth to be delicious and add some of the flavor shrimp shells would have. Cheers!

This is a beautiful recipe. I made it for Christmas Eve, and my family loved it. I forgot to get Pernod, but substituted a dry white wine. It worked well. The toasted fennel seed oil is the best part! Thank you Ottolenghi.

Loved this recipe. I will say, it took me closer to 2 hours once all was said and done, but I wasn't in a rush while cooking. We used slightly more tomatoes and about double the clams. It was a perfect weekend dinner.

This is absolutely delicious as written.

This was excellent. Followed recipe as written except used shrimp shells from 2 lbs shrimp instead of shrimp heads to make stock. 3 of us ate the whole thing.