Tacos that fit in Paleo land

Here, lettuce stands in for tortillas, because the latter are not welcome in Paleo land. The surf means shrimp, lightly seasoned and quickly cooked. The turf is lean ground beef, lightly and differently seasoned and quickly cooked. The protein pair sits atop an avocado mash and is garnished with fresh vegetables.

You’ll find that overfilling romaine leaves will turn a tidy serving into a mess down your shirt. The original recipe calls for baby leaves; here, we doubled up the inner leaves from regular-size heads of romaine, which made them suitably sturdy.

The Tunisian spice blend and Mediterranean seven-spice blend are available at Mediterranean markets.

Surf and Turf Paleo Tacos

4 servings

Toast the spices in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat for a few minutes, just until fragrant and lightly browned. Cool, then grind in a designated spice grinder. Adapted from a “Nom Nom Paleo” recipe by Michelle Tam, as it appears in “The Paleo Chef: Quick, Flavorful Paleo Meals for Eating Well” by Pete Evans (Penguin Random House).

24 peeled and deveined raw, tail-on medium/large shrimp (about 1 pound)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Tunisian spice blend (may substitute a Mediterranean seven-spice blend or use equal parts toasted and ground coriander, cumin and caraway seed)

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1 pound lean (85/15 or 90/10) ground beef

2 pinches chili powder

Flesh of 2 small ripe avocados

1 lime

¼ medium red onion

Leaves from 6 stems cilantro

12 cherry tomatoes

16 small romaine lettuce leaves 

½ cup shredded carrot

Season the shrimp lightly with salt, pepper and the spice blend.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high. Once the oil shimmers, add the shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, turning as needed until opaque. Transfer to a plate.

Add another tablespoon of the oil to the skillet. Season the meat with a pinch of the chili powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Once the oil shimmers, add the beef; cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring to break up clumps. Discard the fat and juices from the pan.

Cut the avocados in half and discard the pits. Scoop the flesh into a bowl. Half the lime; add the juice. Cut the onion into small dice, then add to the bowl. Coarsely chop ¾ of the cilantro and add to the bowl. Drizzle in the remaining tablespoon of (liquefied) oil, then season well with salt and pepper and the remaining pinch of chili powder. Use a fork to mash/blend into guacamole.

Halve the tomatoes. Remove the beef from the heat. Separate the lettuce leaves and stack two sets of 2 on each plate. Top each one with equal amounts of the guacamole, ground beef, shrimp, shredded carrot, cherry tomato halves and the remaining cilantro leaves. Serve right away.