Shrimp Salad

Now this is a dish that I have been wanting to try for some time. And today was the day. As I didn't feel like dealing the the monkey business that is phyllo dough, I bought some pre-made phyllo cups. Other than that? This is a serious business of cutting and dicing and cooking and peeling.

I opted to follow Paula Deen's recipe for Shrimp Salad in Phyllo Cups.

Here we have pre-made phyllo cups, black pepper, salt, mayonnaise, pre-cooked (raw) shell-on shrimp, celery, lemon and green onion.

I heated some water to boiling and then added a splash of white wine and a pinch of salt. The shrimp cook quickly and it is important to watch this carefully. Over-cooked and rubbery shrimp is never a good thing.

As soon as the shrimp are finished cooking, immediately immerse them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Once the shrimp have cooled, peel them and set the shell and tail aside. These discarded parts will then be bagged and frozen for later use in a seafood stock.

Then we chop. And chop. And chop. And, man are my arms sore now. And isn't this cutting board in real need of a good scrubbing now?

Mix together 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup minced celery, 1 tablespoon minced green onion, 1-1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Add in the 2 cups of finely chopped cooked shrimp and mix gently.

Fill the phyllo cups and serve immediately.

It is a very good idea to set this dish over ice while it awaits the diners.

As there was filling left over, I placed the remaining shrimp salad in a bowl and provided crackers as an alternate version of this dish.

Our response? The phyllo dough was not substantial enough to hold its own against the shrimp salad filling. In the end, we much preferred the shrimp salad topped on crackers.

I will make this recipe again, but will make it as a dip with crackers rounding out the dish.