Tropical Shrimp Cups with Pineapple Salsa

Aloha Friends! How was your weekend? For us, we had a great weekend with friends and some good family time too. In fact, we hosted a little luau party where we served up a menu of tropical inspired eats. All this week we’re featuring some of the dishes I prepared so stay tuned! One of the things I served up were these Tropical Shrimp Cups with Pineapple Salsa. Citrus seasoned shrimp nested in flaky phyllo cups topped with a refreshing pineapple salsa for a perfect summer appetizer…

I love luaus. In fact, I love anything Hawaiian related and Hawaiian inspired. I often tell the Baron that if I ever go to Hawaii again, it will be for good because getting on a plane back to the mainland is going to be difficult for me. Really difficult lol. Nonetheless, ever summer I try to look for a reason to throw a Hawaiian inspired party. It’s the colorful prints, exotic flowers, melting pot of cuisines and just the overall carefree feeling I get just thinking about it. So when my friend Sue recently became a Scentsy consultant, I offered to throw a party to kick off her business and learn more about the company and their products. It worked out great since they have a tropical line of scents perfect for the party!

With the theme and party in place, I looked for menu ideas. I wanted to offer some light, flavorful bites and these Tropical Shrimp Cups with Pineapple Salsa really captured that. It’s super easy to prepare and are great for upcoming summer get togethers. The shrimp is marinated in citrus juices before nestling into store bought phyllo cups then topped with a pineapple salsa. To keep things crispy, I would recommend serving this in a DIY {do it yourself} fashion where folks can just fill each phyllo cup with the shrimp and salsa as they eat it. This prevents the phyllo cups from getting soggy if they sit out for a bit. And the shrimp and salsa can be made in advance too.

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon canola oil for cooking
2 packages of Phyllo Cups

Pineapple Salsa:
2 cups finely diced pineapple
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 cup red onion, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Place the shrimp, orange zest, coriander, chili powder and sesame oil in a large bowl and toss to combine. Allow to marinade for 15 minutes.

Place the shrimp in a skillet over medium heat with the canola oil and saute until cooked through. Allow to cool.

For the salsa, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

To serve, fill phyllo cups with shrimp and top with salsa.