10-Minute Shrimp with Green Beans and Creamy Lemon-Dill Dip

From the kitchen of Carly

Sweet shrimp and tender haricots verts steameed in minutes, then cooled and ready for dunking in a bright lemon-dill yogurt dip. Crisp romaine leaves complete this impossibly fast, protein-packed meal that tastes far more involved than it actually is.

10-Minute Shrimp with Green Beans and Creamy Lemon-Dill Dip

Steamed shrimp and green beans arranged with avocado and romaine, finished with a creamy lemon-dill dip that tastes brighter than mayo has any right to. The whole setup hits at once, cold or warm, nothing cooked at the table, no fussing. Wild shrimp stays tender precisely because you pull it out at three minutes, when the heat is barely your friend.

Prep
n/a
Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1Kosher salt
  • 1 lbsnipped green beans, preferably haricots verts
  • 1 1/2 lblarge shrimp, preferably wild, peeled, deveined
  • 1/2 cupGreek yogurt
  • 1/2 cupmayonnaise
  • 1/4 cupfresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbspfinely chopped dill
  • 2 tspDijon mustard
  • 1/4 tspfreshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 lbromaine heart leaves
  • 1avocado, pitted, peeled, cut into 12 wedges
  • 1Lemon wedges

Instructions

  1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot with about 1/2 inch of salted water, cover, and bring to a boil. Arrange the beans in the basket, cover again, and steam until just tender, about 3 minutes. Carefully lift the steamer insert out, transfer the beans to a large colander, and run cold water over them, then move them to a plate.

  2. Return the steamer basket to the pot. Season the shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt, place them in the basket, cover, and steam until pink and opaque, about 3 minutes. Transfer them to the colander and run cold water over them until cool to the touch.

  3. While the shrimp steam, whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill (if using), mustard, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

  4. Divide the shrimp, beans, romaine leaves, and avocado wedges among plates. Portion the lemon-dill dip into small bowls and serve alongside, with lemon wedges for squeezing over if you have them.

  5. Both the green beans and shrimp can be steamed and the dip can be made up to 1 day ahead. Store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Haricots verts are thinner than regular green beans and finish cooking in half the time, so don't swap them for the standard kind without adjusting your steam time down. Taste one to confirm.
  • Ice bath the shrimp and beans immediately after steaming, or they'll keep cooking from residual heat and turn tough. Cold water is your only job here.
  • Whisk the dip as close to serving as you can. The sauce splits and weeps if it sits too long, especially if your mayo and yogurt temperatures were different when they went in.

Variations

  • Skip the dip and make a quick mustard vinaigrette with Dijon, sherry vinegar, and olive oil instead, pour it warm over the room-temperature vegetables and cold shrimp.
  • Swap the romaine for crisp butter lettuce or radicchio if you want less volume or a different texture on the plate.
  • Add roasted fingerling potatoes or steamed asparagus to bulk the plate up and stretch the recipe further without changing the cooking method.
  • Use the dip as a spread on sourdough with leftover shrimp for a next-day sandwich that needs nothing else.

Make ahead and storage

Green beans and shrimp keep separately in airtight containers in the fridge for one day. The dip also holds for one day. Assemble and dress just before eating, since greens and avocado wilt fast once they meet the sauce.