Surf & Turf Scampi Lettuce Cups – AIP, Low-FODMAP, Whole 30
Shrimp Scampi and Garlic Steak all bundled together in these AIP Surf & Turf Scampi Lettuce Cups.
Who says they only need to go with a baked tater and a house salad?
Let’s combine the two succulent proteins, and pile them high on top of cool, crisp romaine hearts. And just to show off, we’re gonna sorta smother everything with creamy herbed vinaigrette.
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This recipe is friendly for Paleo, AIP, Low-FODMAP, Whole 30, GAPS and SCD!
Just follow the noted modifications for your particular diet.
The shrimp I used in this recipe are cooked, wild caught baby shrimp that I snagged at Costco for about $7.50/lb. You can use any size shrimp you like, of course.
The baby shrimp are just a frugal option for those not-so-fancy-huh weeknight suppers that tend to grace our meal plans more often than those of the lavish kind.
This AIP Surf & Turf Scampi Lettuce Cups meal doesn’t get any easier.
It’s all about whipping together a dressing, searing a steak, and throwing it all on top of lettuce cups. Boom.
Start by making the dressing:
To a blender, add a clove of pressed garlic* (or some garlic powder if you’re lazy crafty like me), 1 Tb balsamic vinegar, 1 Tb lemon juice, 1 tsp honey, sea salt and *black pepper to taste, and 1 tsp fresh or dried parsley.
*Omit the garlic for low-FODMAP, omit the honey for Whole 30 and Low-FODMAP, and omit the black pepper for AIP.
Whiz up on medium speed until it comes together, then slowly drizzle in ¼ cup light-tasting olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
Toss and coat.
Toss your ready-to-eat shrimp into a bowl and coat them well with the vinaigrette to make your marinated scampi.
Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate and infuse while you prepare the steak.
If you are using larger shrimp, go ahead and give them a little rough chop so they are bite-sized.
Medium-rare, baby.
The best way to cook a steak to medium-rare is to let it come to nearly room-temperature before cooking.
Understandably, this isn’t always the case for how much time allowance we have in our day. But if you can manage to plan ahead a little bit, your steak will be much juicier and more properly cooked with this step.
Prepare to sizzle your AIP Surf & Turf Scampi Lettuce Cups.
Heat a cast iron or oven-safe sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season your steak well on both sides with salt and black pepper (omitting pepper for AIP).
When the pan is nice and hot, add your preferred cooking fat (my fave for steak is ghee *not for AIP* or duck fat) then sear your steak on all sides until golden brown with a nice crust.
It really helps to have a splatter screen to avoid making an oily mess all over the stovetop and floor!
If desired you can finish the steak in a 450 F oven to your desired doneness.
Allow steak to rest on a cutting board while you fry the optional green onion tops until wilted. Slice the steak into thin bite-size pieces.
Assemble your cups by placing the chilled marinated shrimp scampi next to the hot steak slices, drizzling over any extra dressing if you like, then topping with the optional green onion tops.
Check out my Steak & Mash with Leek Crisps for another delicious and easy steak recipe!
Surf & Turf Scampi Lettuce Cups
Ingredients
DRESSING:
- 1 clove garlic pressed through garlic press (omit for low-FODMAP)
- 1 Tb balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tb lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey (omit for Whole 30 and Low-FODMAP)
- 1 tsp parsley fresh and chopped, or dried
- 1/4 cup light-tasting olive oil or high-temp avocado oil
- Real Salt and black pepper to taste (omit pepper for AIP)
PROTEINS:
- 1/2 lb cooked baby shrimp
- 1 Tb paleo cooking fat
- 8 oz beef filet or favorite tender steak cut, allowed to come to room temperature if time allows
- 8 to 10 romaine heart leaves depending on size
- 1 small bunch green onion chopped (tops only for low-FODMAP)
Instructions
- In a blender, whiz together pressed garlic clove, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt and black pepper to taste, and parsley. Slowly drizzle in oil while running until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
- Toss shrimp into the a bowl and coat well with vinaigrette. Cover bowl and place in fridge to marinate and infuse while you prepare the steak. (If you are using larger shrimp, rough chop them so they are bite-sized.)
- Heat a small cast iron or oven-safe sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season steak well on both sides with salt and black pepper (omitting pepper for AIP). When pan is nice and hot, add your preferred cooking fat then sear your steak on all sides until golden brown with a nice crust. It really helps to have a splatter screen to avoid making an oily mess all over the stovetop and floor.
- If desired you can finish the steak in a 450 F oven to your desired doneness.
- Allow steak to rest on a cutting board while you fry the optional green onion tops in the same pan until wilted.
- Slice the steak into thin bite-size pieces.
- Assemble your scampi cups as desired, drizzling over any extra dressing if you like, and topping with the optional green onion tops.
