Easy Creamy Surf and Turf

You don't need a special occasion or hours in the kitchen to enjoy a gourmet dinner tonight. This easy creamy surf and turf is the ultimate one-pan comfort food, featuring tender steak and succulent prawns drenched in a velvety, decadent sauce.

I love a good surf and turf recipe. There is nothing like a juicy pan seared steak topped with pan fried prawns and creamy garlic sauce. It's not often I make this dish so when I do I like to savour every bit. Every mouthful is a perfect balance of rich, savoury beef and sweet, tender prawns. The velvety garlic sauce ties it all together, making the meal feel like absolute luxury on a plate. I like pair it with sauteed broccolini and mashed potatoes to soak up every last drop of that creamy goodness. Taking my time with each bite turns dinner into a true sensory experience. It is the ultimate comfort food that leaves me completely satisfied every single time.

Creamy surf and turf is the ultimate comfort meal because it smothers everything in one pan of rich, garlic sauce.

• Tastes expensive: Feels like a fancy pub meal but costs way less to make at home.
• Smart savings: Buying any cut of meat that suits your budget and keeps the meal affordable.
• Super fast: Takes less than 15 minutes in a single frying pan.
• Easy cleanup: Cooking the steak, seafood, and sauce together means fewer dishes to wash.

Surf and turf is a classic main course that combines seafood ("surf") and red meat ("turf") on a single plate.

• Surf: Represents the waves of the sea and the fish or shellfish caught there.
• Turf: Represents the grassy land where cattle graze before becoming beef.
• Popularity: The catchy phrase and meal became famous in North American restaurants during the early 1960s as a luxury menu pairing. In Australia, it is also commonly known as "beef and reef".

This delicious surf and turf is easy to make. Simply cook the steaks to your preferred doneness, sear the prawns, and whip up a creamy sauce with butter, shallots, white wine, and cream. Let the sauce simmer until it thickens, stir in the parsley, add the prawns back, and serve them over your favourite steak.

(Full recipe in the recipe card below)

You might like to try:

• Oven baked chicken breast with feta and sundried tomatoes
• One pot lemon chicken rice
• Easy one pot sausage casserole

If you’ve tried making this creamy surf and turf recipe and enjoyed it, feel free to leave a comment—I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Easy Creamy Surf and Turf

Recipe by Marie Otty

You don't need a special occasion or hours in the kitchen to enjoy a gourmet dinner tonight. This easy creamy surf and turf is the ultimate one-pan comfort food, featuring tender steak and succulent shrimp drenched in a velvety, decadent sauce.

Course: MainCuisine: WesternDifficulty: Easy

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Servings

2

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

35

minutes

Ingredients

• The Steak

• 2 fillet steaks (approx 200-250g each)

• 8 large raw prawns, peeled and deveined (tails left on)

• 1 tbsp tbsp olive oil

• 20 g unsalted butter

• Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

• The White Wine Cream Sauce

• 1 French shallot, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

• 1/4 cup dry white wine (see notes)

• 1/2 cup thickened cream

• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions

• Sear the steaks: Bring steaks to room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking. Pat dry with paper towels.
  Season generously on both sides with salt and cracked black pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until smoking. Sear the steaks for 3–4 minutes per side (for medium-rare) or cook to your preferred doneness. Transfer to a plate, tent loosely with foil, and let rest while you make the rest of the dish.
• Flash-fry the prawns: Turn heat down to medium and add the prawns to the pan, ensuring they lay flat. Cook for 1–2 minutes per side just until they turn pink and opaque. Remove immediately and set aside with the resting steaks to prevent overcooking
• Build the cream sauce: Melt the butter in the skillet. Sauté the aromatics, adding the chopped shallot and minced garlic. Cook for 1–2 minutes until soft and fragrant. Deglaze the pan by pouring in the white wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the delicious browned bits stuck to the bottom. Reduce the liquid by simmering the wine for 1-2 minutes until it reduces by half. Whisk in the cream and turn the heat down to low. Simmer gently for 3 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste with a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Assemble and serve: Stir the fresh parsley. Return the prawns to the skillet for 30 seconds to coat them in the warm sauce. Plate the steaks, arrange the prawns on top, and spoon the rich garlic-shallot cream sauce generously over everything.

Notes

• Steaks: For this recipe, you can use any steak you prefer. I went with porterhouse. Premium cuts include porterhouse, scotch fillet, T-bone, sirloin, beef tenderloin, or rib-eye, though rump steak works well as a more budget-friendly choice.
• Wine: I used Sauvignon Blanc, but you could also go with a dry Riesling, Pinot Grigio, or a lightly oaked Chardonnay.