Spicy Shrimp Burger with Spicy Cucumber Slaw

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.

The ingredients that make up this burger are directly related to my home where I grew up in Massachusetts. Seafood abounds everywhere. All types of seafood are utilized in every way imagined; especially shellfish.

Ingredients:

Cucumber Slaw:
2 English cucumbers, coarsely shredded or two cucumbers seeded and shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1.5 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 cup jarred medium or hot salsa
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 small carrot, finely shredded
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. white sugar
Burgers:
2 pounds raw peeled and de-veined small shrimp
2 celery stalks with green, leafy tops, coarsely chopped
1 small to medium yellow skinned onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic
A handful parsley leaves
2 tablespoon Old Bay seafood seasoning
3 teaspoons hot sauce
2 lemons, zested
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Large piece of foil
6 multi-grain Ciabatta rolls

Instructions:

Prepare Spicy Cucumber Slaw:
Stir together the cucumber and salt. Place in a colander over a mixing bowl. Refrigerate 1/2 hour. Discard liquid and place cucumber in mixing bowl. Add yogurt, lime juice, and sugar separately and add to the cucumber, carrot, and scallion. Mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Yield: 6 servings for burger condiment

Burgers:
Divide the shrimp in half. Put half the shrimp into a food processor and grind it up. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl using a rubber spatula. Coarse-chop the whole shrimp and add to the bowl. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic and parsley to the processor and pulse-grind it into a fine chop. Add the vegetable mixture to the shrimp. Add seafood seasoning, hot sauce, lemon zest, salt and pepper to the bowl, to season. Stir the shrimp mixture to combine.

Preheat grill to medium to medium high heat. Place piece of foil brushed with olive oil over grates to fry burgers. Use a large metal scoop to scoop 6 mounds of shrimp burger. Gently pat down to form patties. Fry patties 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until they firm up and the shrimp turn whitish-pink. Serve on grilled Multi-Grain Ciabatta Roll topped with cucumber slaw. Yield 6 1/3 lb. burgers