Green shrimp burger

I was quite pleased with how this one turned out as I ate it for dinner. My dining companion thought it was a bit odd.

I took about 2/3 lb. of medium shrimp, about two big handfuls (if you have two big hands). I pureed one handful in the mixie with a seeded green chile (a green cayenne pepper, according to the farmer), a green onion, a handful each of mint and cilantro, a clove of garlic, and a big pinch of salt and another of sugar. Also a few sprinkles of white and black pepper. I let it go for a minute or two until it formed a paste. Then I tossed in the other handful and pulsed three or four times, just to break them into a few pieces each. The idea is to make half the shrimp into a glue that holds the other half together.

I formed this into two patties and sauteed them in peanut oil. They're garnished with mayonnaise and, as you can see, a thick slice of fresh tomato. It tasted a bit like dim sum, like the shrimp in Chinese dumplings. But the seasonings didn't taste typically Chinese. It was well seasoned but not hot. I could have left in the chile seeds for some extra zip. The more I think about it, making them into green burgers was a strange thing to do to those poor shrimp. But I'm glad I did it, if only to be able to say that I've made shrimp burgers and they're good, but you wouldn't want to eat them all that often.