Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend and Trader Joe’s Argentinian Red Shrimp come together in a zesty and flavorful stew reminiscent of the Italian fish stew “Ciopinno”. With the addition of some produce and pantry ingredients, this recipe comes together within an hour, and presents like your best showstopper recipe!
I am thrilled to be a guest writer for Club Trader Joe’s and to develop recipes using Trader Joe’s products. It’s a perfect match, because my blog, Sofa Dinners, publishes recipes based on the Mediterranean Diet Food Pyramid, and Trader Joe’s sells many ingredients well suited to such recipes. My recipes are simple and come together quickly, as well, something I imagine Trader Joe’s shoppers appreciate.
What’s special about this recipe?
- Flavor – The aromatics of onion, garlic, carrot, and fennel (you could sub celery) combined with the tomato, broth, wine (optional), lemon, and the dill and olives, give this dish so much natural flavor, I’ve only seasoned it additionally with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
- Easy – A simple saute, the addition of more ingredients, and time for the Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend to cook, is all that’s required. The shrimp, olives, fresh dill, and lemon are added at the end. This keeps the dish very fresh tasting.
- Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend– The addition of the Harvest Blend which includes orzo, couscous, quinoa, and split chickpeas, makes for a complete meal and gives the dish more texture. Seafood stews can be a bit light otherwise, and this takes it up a notch and makes for a fantastic presentation.
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
- Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend – This blend is primarily made up of Israeli couscous (larger, rounder pasta shape than traditional couscous) and orzo (tiny elliptical pasta shape in three colors), with a very small amount of red quinoa and split chickpeas (often used in Indian dal recipes). The recipe (serves 4) only asks for 4 oz, or 1/4 a package of the blend. Using any more in this recipe will cause the liquid/broth to disappear and is not recommended (pasta will continue to absorb any liquid it is in).
- Trader Joe’s Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp – This variety of shrimp has a pink color when raw, but don’t be mistaken, they need to be cooked! They are delicate in flavor, cook in an instant, and are already deveined and shelled. I highly recommend them as a TJ’s product.
- Fennel bulb – This ribbed veggie, is not unlike celery, but in a rounder shape, and with a subtle anise flavor. Don’t be deterred, as it is very mellow. If you prefer you can substitute celery (a couple of stalks) in place of it. Slice the white part, and chop up the green parts to add with dill at the end of preparation.
- White wine – Wine adds a wonderful fruity acidity to the dish, but you can leave it out if you prefer, as the lemon adds a similar flavor. Much of it cooks off, so if you are not using it, add 1/2 cup of water or broth.
- Green Olives – Any green pitted olive works here and adds a great briny flavor, but the brighter green olives you see in the photos for this recipe are Castelvetrano, which have a mild, buttery flavor and taste a tad less briny. If you can find them, they are worth a try.
Above: these produce items plus a few pantry staples and the two TJ’s products are all you need!
Above Left: fresh dill, lemon zest, and the fennel fronds all chopped to add at the end of cooking. Right: it’s important to weigh (or measure a cup) of the TJ’s Harvest Blend so as not to add too much which would soak up all the liquid.
Method + Timing
- Saute – The aromatics are sauteed in olive oil for a few minutes, then the tomato paste is added and sauteed briefly. The wine and canned tomatoes are then added and cooked briefly to cook down the wine.
- Cook the TJ’s Harvest Blend – the Harvest Blend is then added and the stew cooks for 30-40 minutes. Beyond about 10 minutes, you are checking to see if the chickpeas have cooked through. They take the longest.
- Cook the TJ’s shrimp – At this point, the shrimp are added along with the fresh dill, lemon zest, juice, and olives. Within 5 minutes the shrimp will be cooked and the dish can be served.
Above: 1. saute the fennel, carrot, onion, garlic. 2. add in the tomato paste (to be followed by wine/tomatoes. 3. stir in the broth and Harvest Blend to cook for 30-40 min. Below: the shrimp are added along with the olives, lemon and dill, to cook for just 5 minutes.
This dish is incredibly easy to put together and is so pretty, you might like to bring the entire pot to the table to serve family style. It’s worthy of serving on a special occasion, with some crusty bread and a salad!
If this looks appealing, consider one of my other easy and quick recipes over on Sofa Dinners, such as Herby Fish Stew with Crispy Potatoes or Sheet Pan Lamb, Mushrooms, and Rice.
Trader Joe's Harvest Blend Shrimp Stew
Equipment
- 1 3.5 quart dutch oven or any soup/stew pot.
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 medium carrot
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or crushed)
- 1 cup dry white wine (optional i.e. pinot grigio)
- 1 quart vegetable broth (can substitute water)
- 4 ounces Trader Joe's "Harvest Blend" (1 cup-couscous, orzo, red quinoa, split chickpeas)
- 1 pound Trader Joe's Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp (1 package)
- 20 Green Olives Pitted (I love the bright green Castelvetrano variety but any green olive is fine)
- 1/2 lemon (zest and juice)
- 1/2 chopped bunch fresh dill (to taste- at least a couple tablespoons)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, red pepper flakes (to taste)
Instructions
- Slice the fennel and onion.
- Roughly chop garlic and carrot.
- Add all to pot with olive oil and saute on medium-high for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add tomato paste, stir and saute a couple minutes to carmelize the tomato paste, then add the wine and can of tomatoes, and saute 10 minutes to evaporate the wine some.
- Add just 4 oz. (1 cup) of the Harvest Blend and the quart of broth. Bring to a simmer, then cover and let simmer 30-40 minutes. See important note.
- Once the split chickpeas have softened, taste to adjust seasonings. If the broth has evaporated too much, add 1/4 cup of water, then add shrimp, olives, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh dill (reserve some for serving if you want). and bring to simmer for 5 min. Serve topped with extra zest and dill.
