April 27, 2011 •

Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Cilantro Dip

I’m fully ready for summer and the pool! Can’t wait for this warm weather to be consistent. This shrimp screams summer and it was super easy to pull together too. I just realized the coconut was supposed to be toasted-haha…it was in the ingredients that way but not the directions, so I missed it! 🙂 I’ve added to the directions below. I’m sure that would’ve added more punch to the flavor. This shrimp was really good, I opted to not use the coconut extract because I didn’t have any, but I would definitely recommend using it as I think my shrimp was a little lacking in the coconut flavor department. But really the star of this dish is the pineapple cilantro dip. I could’ve eaten it with a spoon by itself! It was so full of beautiful, fresh summery flavor. This is a great healthy dish. If you are making this for more than 2 people, I would double the recipe because Adam & had no problem polishing this off ourselves!:) (Sorry for the crummy pics, it was late and we were ready to eat!)


Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Cilantro Dip
Source: Rachael Ray Magazine, recipe from Rocco DiSpirito

Ingredients:
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
3/4 cup panko
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon coconut extract
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
8 ounces fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1/4 cup cilantro leaves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a wire rack on top of your baking sheet and spray with cooking spray, set aside.

Toast coconut in a skillet over low heat until it has a nutty smell and is golden brown. Then place coconut in a food processor or blender and finely chop. Transfer to a shallow bowl and add in the panko, and season with salt & pepper. Stir to combine. In another shallow bowl, add the flour. In a third bowl, whisk together the egg whites until foamy then add the extract.

Coat the shrimp first in the flour, then the egg mixture and finally fully coat with the panko mixture. Place shrimp on the wire rack on the baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and shrimp is cooked through.

For the Pineapple Cilantro Dip:
Place pinapple, chili sauce, garlic & cilantro in blender or food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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