I'm not great with gardening so I asked my husband to plant some herbs instead of flowers in our garden for me. I have to say I haven't been paying much attention and I just noticed the herbs have really flourished. I have been trying to use as much fresh herbs in my cooking as possible, so for this week's inspiration
's sandwich contest, I thought I would make shrimp burgers flavored with lots of fresh herbs from the garden.
Ingredients
- shrimp patties (shrimp, chives, golden oregano, thyme, smoked paprika, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and egg)
- fried shallots (canola oil, flour, and salt)
- hamburger bun
- pepperoncini and lemon mayonnaise
- pickled zucchini (zucchini, tumeric, allspice berries, white vinegar, sugar, fresh dill, and salt)
For the shrimp patties, I placed the shrimp into a food processor and pulsed the shrimp for a few seconds. I wanted the shrimp to be coarsely chopped. Then I added my fresh herbs, bread crumbs, egg and seasonings. I formed the shrimp mixture into thick patties and pan fried them in some olive oil.
Fried shallots are one of my favorite condiments. They add so much flavor to any dish. The trick to making these shallots are to slice them thinly on a mandolin and to dust them with flour just before you add them into a 300 degree F oil. You need to fry them at a lower temperature because the shallots will turn dark brown quickly and have a bitter after taste. You can make a big batch and store them in an airtight container. I like to add them to soups, salads or eat them as a snack.
My burger was missing a sauce so I diced some pepperoncini which are pickled Italian hot peppers and mixed them with mayonnaise and some freshly grated lemon zest. Now I am ready to assemble my burger. I split the bun in half and toasted them on an open flame. On the top bun, I spread some pepperoncini mayonnaise and on the bottom bun, I placed a shrimp burger with some pickled zucchini strips. I topped the zucchini with a generous mound of fried shallots before placing the top bun. Let's eat!
