Today’s guest post is brought to you by Gillian Nadel, a self-proclaimed foodie living and working in New York City. By day, Gillian works for an entertainment magazine, but spends most of her free time thinking about what or where she’ll eat next. A wise woman once told her that if you like to eat you have to learn to cook (or marry well). She’s still working on both….
Temperatures outside are rising which makes standing by a hot oven sound anything but appetizing. In fact, it’s practically a rule in our apartment that I don’t turn on the oven when it’s over 80 degrees! Without access to a grill, cooking a hearty dinner in the summer can become quite the challenge. And whipping something up at the end of a long work-day: who has the time? But alas, it’s finally beach season and I can’t complain, so time to retire the oven mitts and get creative.
I’ve been on a seafood kick and lately I’m craving shrimp. Because I love all spicy foods, I paired a Cajun shrimp with crisp and cooling ingredients in a meal the requires minimal cooking. On the menu: Cajun spiced shrimp lettuce wraps with jicama, avocado and a pineapple relish.
What’s jicama? If you think I am speaking another language. well, jicama is a root vegetable, a distant cousin to the yam. It’s exterior is yellow and feels papery, with a creamy white inside and a texture that resembles a raw potato or an unripe pear. Jicama has a sweet, starchy flavor that can be eaten raw or cooked in soups, salads and stir-fry.
Cajun Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
What You Need:
16-20 Cleaned and deveined, uncooked shrimp
Cajun seasoning
1/4 Cup Olive oil
1/2 head Iceberg or Boston lettuce, leaves removed and kept whole
3/4 cup Jicama, cut into matchsticks
1 cup Pineapple, cut into chunks
1 Jalapeno, cleaned and chopped (deseeded, if desired, for less heat)
1 teaspoon Agave nectar
2 teaspoons Lime juice
1/2 Avocado, sliced
Hot sauce, to taste
How-To:
For the shrimp: Season shrimp generously with Cajun seasoning. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Place seasoned shrimp in oil and cook 3-5 minutes until shrimp become pink. Remove tails from shrimp and let come to room temperature.
For the Pineapple Salsa: In a food processor, combine pineapple and jalapeno. Season with lime juice and agave nectar to taste.
Assemble: Place shrimp, jicama, avocado slices and pineapple relish on lettuce. Drizzle with hot sauce for added heat!
While the lettuce offers a diet-friendly version, this meal can easily be made in a corn tortilla or your favorite wrap. Lettuce wraps are a quick and easy summer meal. What else will you wrap this summer? Let us know!
Print This Recipe
{ 56 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks great!
Great idea!
Maris, this wrap looks delicious, love the cajun spice. So yummie! Have a great week
This looks like the perfect salad for those hot summer days!
What a great recipe! I love all of these ingredients- especially jicama! This would pair nicely with some jicama fries (if its below 80 and you can turn on the oven
)
Love all the ingredients used in this wrap! Looks so tempting!
Wow – Gillian!! I am so inspired. I have a bag of organic frozen shrimp from Whole foods that this recipe would be perfect for – Thanks for sharing!!
This looks delicious…a great start to a meal..all it needs is crisp glass of white wine!
This sounds delicious! Knowing myself, I would probably add about a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, and through it all onto a freshly deep-fried tortilla. Gotta get some extra calories where I can:)
Great recipe. I always think grill and forget stovetop when it’s hot. Those shrimp look wonderful
This sounds so tasty! Love the flavours!
Oh yum!!! This combines some of my all-time favorite flavors!!! Great recipe!
What a great guest post, this looks fabulous and healthy!
That looks delicious, fresh, and easy….perfect for summer.
I’ve always wanted to try jicama! Well, I’ve tried it, but I mean cook with it. I’ve also been really into lettuce wraps lately so I should try using it that way like you did. Looks fabulous!
I love lettuce wraps. I really need to make them more often since they are so crisp and clean and perfect for hot weather.
It kind of reminds me of Vietnamese summer wraps. How clean and refreshing! I love the crunch of jicama in there.
Sadly me and shrimp are not friends but I think this would work very well with chicken too!! Sounds yummy!
Gillian Nadel sounds like a super winner as a cook.
Who wants to be in the kitchen during the summer…not me. I lkie that she can suggest a good meal made of healthy things that’s cool and “cool.”
Good for you Gillian
Bob N.
I love lettuce wraps…who needs a tortilla
! These sound wonderful…as I sit here not yet having dinner your photos are making me very hungry! Cajun shrimp would be delicious and combine it with the avocado…even better!
Yum! Although not the biggest shrimp fan, I can see myself making this with any other seafood! Love the no oven after 80F rule!
this looks great your getting some fun guest posts Maris and you so need an ipad to test your future app on!
Yum!
great guest post! I love shrimp and the high temps call for cool food! Thanks
sweetlife
These look so refreshing and fun… over 80 and only bbq… I think I would starve waiting for my hubby to fire it up.
Great recipe! I love making lettuce wraps. They’re so filling yet no pesky carbs with the tortillas.
This looks yummy! Cant wait to try it and make it.
The flavors in this sound great.
Wow! Wow! A big YEAH indeed!
Wow.. This one’s right up my alley. I could eat a ton of these… Well, not a ton, but a LOT! Yummy recipe with some fabulous flavors, Maris! Thank you for sharing
Perfect for summer! So refreshing and light.
I love it! Would tilapia or cod be ok instead of shrimp?
this looks perfect for the summer!
As someone who lives in a tiny NYC apartment as well, I can attest to the fact that if one wants to survive, one CAN’T turn on the oven! I love these shrimp! They definitely give off the flavors of summer!
I think my husband just feel in love with you! I am sitting in the kitchen looking at your blog and he is getting ready for work and stop to see that picture of the shrimp wraps and the word cajun. I think he just feel in love with you- seriously! LOL! Those look insanely PERFECT! Trying them SOOON!
Oh, yummy! Those fresh and delicious wraps are perfect when it is hot outside.
Cheers,
Rosa
Cute blog! And these look delicious! I looooove shrimp.
OMG…perfect summer meal
I kept seeing your comments on some of the blogs that I follow so I decided to hop over and take a look at your website. I’m so happy that I did. I’m now your newest follower. These Cajun Shrimp Lettuce Wraps are such a great idea! They look absolutely delicious and perfect for summer! Thanks!
What a lovely guest post. The wraps look delicious and I love the spirit of the writer. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
I had some asian chicken wrap like this as an appetizer once, and have thought about it many times since. Yours look great and perfect for summer nights.
Oh, this shrimp wrap looks amazing and perfect for warmer weather. Would love a mango margarita with that please!
Growing up, my parents would make a salad with grated carrots and jicama. not sure why it’s such an underused vegetable in the US.
What incredible flavors! LOVE IT!
I love lettuce wraps. I need to make them more often. I also like tofu scramble with other veggies in lettuce or cabbage wraps!
I love jicama & pineapple combo.These lettuce wraps look great! I love both shrimp & cajun flavors.Perfect for summer lunch.
I keep forgetting about lettuce wraps as a dinner option (with the added bonus that for me, they are low carb!). This is a fantastic recipe, thanks for the guest post!
Oh this is such a great idea for warm night dinner. I love lettuce wraps. In my house I cook teriyaki chicken and wrap with some veggie sticks. I will need to try your version. With the spice, definitely it’s summer food!
Maris..wow, I want one of these wraps badly. Cajun shrimp in lettuce wraps is dinner tonight..if the shrimp looks good at the market. Bookmarking too
Nice guest post, Maris. I do love those Cajun flavors!
Can’t wait to see what you’re cooking up this weekend!
Looks awesome! Couldn’t agree with the “A wise woman once told her that if you like to eat you have to learn to cook (or marry well).” quote more. It’s certainly the reason I learned!
Ohh, can’t wait to try these, I have never cooked shrimp before!
Mmm I love shrimp and I bet the heat of the spices are so great against the crisp lettuce =)
Wow, what a great guest post! This is perfect for the summer hot nights when you want to cut back on the heavy carbs!
Soo refreshing & appropriate.
Can’t wait to try this! Looks delicious!
{ 2 trackbacks }