Thursday, January 23, 2014

Weekly Consumption Approved

I am a crazed burger eater. Ask my husband. I legit suggest Boston Burger Company nearly every single time he asks if I want to go out to eat! In fact, I’ve spent substantial time coming up with ways to justify it. My first justification was post tabata class when I started taking it last year. I’ve told numerous friends that I’m sure I was burning 1200-1500 calories each time I took the class, so obviously as my post tabata, Friday night meal, I deserved a burger! I’ll add that I never eat the bun, so there’s that but I’m not sure that counts for much when, during my busy season at work, I’ve rationalized eating at BBC once a week. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. Incidentally, I always get a Hot Mess, no bun, medium rare! You should check this out it is dangerous! Did I mention I love danger?

Anyway!!! As a burger lover, I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to try cooking a new and healthy version that I could perhaps justify eating once a week! What I came up with after some bouncing ideas of Josh and really thinking hard about what I know about food, flavors, and texture was an absolute slam dunk success!

It was a shrimp burger! Please proceed without fear!

Basil Mayo
½ cup paleo mayo (Recipe on yesterday’s blog)
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Mix and refrigerate overnight

Pickled Red Onion
½ red onion, sliced very thin
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup water
Pinch of salt

Mix ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

Shrimp Burger
1 lb raw shrimp (41/50 count), processed in the food processor
10 raw shrimp (21/25 count), cut into quarters
2 egg yolks
2.5 tsp fresh oregano, chopped thin
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1-2 tsp Coconut oil

Process the first pound of shrimp in a food processor until it’s no longer lumpy. You’ll need to pulse the processor a few times to mix them around so it doesn’t get to mushy. Cut the larger shrimps into quarters. Then mix all of the above ingredients except the coconut oil into a bowl. Patty the shrimp mixture out into 5 patties. Then put in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so the mix firms back up but doesn’t cool all the way to fridge temperature. Finally, warm the coconut oil in a pan over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes on the first side or until brown. Then flip the burger and cook another few minutes until cooked through and brown on both sides. To test the doneness of the burger you can press on top. If it’s firm and springs back, it’s done!

Garnish the burger with fresh tomato, basil mayo and pickled onions. I tried to wrap it in iceberg lettuce, which was great really because the crunch is exactly what you need. But apparently I need a trip to NorCal to learn how to wrap a burger in lettuce! It was kind of a mess. Next time I’ll use a knife and fork. Who really cares the method in which you get it in your mouth anyway!



Either way, this was one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever cooked/blogged! It was silly healthy since my mayo is basically a superfood! But the flavors were spot on together. Don’t leave out a component! Even if you THINK you don’t like one of them! I swear this will impress all of your toughest critics!

Salud burger buddies!

2 comments: