Scampi Prawn Sliders With Blistered Tomatoes And Lemon Pesto Aioli

Accolades 2017 Winning Recipes
Serves 12 Small Burgers/Sliders
Pairs well with:

Pinot Grigio

You won’t need a bouquet of flowers when you share our Pinot Grigio. This crisp wine with floral aromas is a wonderful way to make an entrance.

This burger was inspired by the delicious combination of shrimp scampi and Pinot Grigio, one of my favorite meals. Everything is better on a burger, so I set about recreating the flavors of garlicky, lemony shrimp scampi as a burger that will blow away your friends and family. The shrimp patty is held together with breadcrumbs made from garlic butter croutons, which work as a flavorful binder. Peppery arugula is dressed with lemon and olive oil for freshness. A lemon pesto aioli with a hint of Sutter Home Pinot Grigio makes a delicious sauce, and blistered heirloom tomatoes become sweet on the grill. The Parmesan crisp gives a great crunch, along with the garlic buttered and grilled buns. I think you will agree that this tiny burger packs a big flavor punch.

Ingredients:

Patties:

  • 1/3 cup garlic butter croutons
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail off

Aioli:

  • 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon Sutter Home Pinot Grigio

Blistered Tomatoes:

  • 10 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, (heirloom)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon pepper

Other Toppings:

  • 2 Cups baby arugula, loosely packed
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • ¼ Teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ Teaspoon pepper
  • 3 Tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
  • 1 Clove garlic, minced
  • 12 Brioche slider buns
  • 12 Parmesan crisps

Instructions:

Patties:

  1. Preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat
  2. Prepare grill grates with non-stick spray and place an oiled, seasoned cast iron saute pan on one side of the grill to preheat
  3. In a large food processor, combine croutons, lemon zest, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper
  4. Process until the mixture becomes fine in texture, like breadcrumbs
  5. Add half of the shrimp and process with the crumb mixture until smooth
  6. Finely dice the other half of the shrimp on a cutting board
  7. Place both mixtures into a bowl and mix well
  8. Spray or oil hands with non-stick spray to form 12 small patties
  9. Place patties in the refrigerator until ready to grill

Aioli:

  1. In a small bowl whisk pesto, mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic and Sutter Home Pinot Grigio until combined
  2. Cover and store in refrigerator

Blistered Tomatoes:

  1. In a large Ziploc plastic bag, combine tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper
  2. Shake well and set aside

Other Toppings:

  1. In a separate bowl, toss arugula with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper
  2. Set aside
  3. In another small bowl combine the butter and minced garlic
  4. Mix well and spread on the inside of the top and bottom bun

Assembly:

  1. Grill tomatoes in the cast iron pan, turning occasionally for about 5-7 minutes, or until blistered and softened
  2. Remove tomatoes from heat and roughly chop
  3. Place buns on the grill, buttered side down for 30 seconds – 1 minute
  4. Remove buns and spread the aioli on the bottom bun
  5. Grill shrimp patties for 2-3 minutes per side or until just done in the center
  6. Place patties on top of the aioli, top with tomatoes, arugula, parmesan crisps and the top bun
  7. Enjoy immediately with chilled Sutter Home Pinot Grigio