Potato Cakes with Mango Chimichurri and Pan Seared Butter Shrimp

Less than 30 minutes from brain to table...

I don't know about you, but starch is my personal friend. So is oil. Come to think of it, this plate has just a bunch of my close friends - spice, shrimp, mango, sour, the list goes on. I think the plating is off though. Maybe I should have stacked the mango on the potato cake, and the shrimp on the mango? Or maybe the shrimp on one potato cake and add diced mango on top, surrounded by chimichurri? Who knows.

Anyway, I wasn't exactly sure how the potato cakes would turn out, since this was a first time experiment for me. I also knew I wanted something with a punch to dip the cakes into, and I had some fresh Italian parsley on hand - chimichurri was a logical choice. Also fresh mango? Why not.

Potato Cakes:

3 large potatoes, skinned, washed, and shredded using a large cheese grater. Grate those into a bowl and have a colander ready. You want to wash the starch off, so you're going to soak the potatoes for a few minutes, then run them into the colander with fresh water running over, then back in to the bowl. Repeat the cycle a couple of times until the water runs clear. Drain them well, and dry them with a towel. Set aside, but use within 15 minutes, or they're gonna turn pink, green and nasty.

Pour about 1/4 cup of flour into a large bowl. Add cold water slowly, mixing as it goes in. You're making a batter that runs with the consistency of a pancake batter but slightly runnier. This is a trial and error task. It's maybe 50-50 water flour, but possibly less water. Blend well, breaking up all flour chunks.

Now stir in ample amounts of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix well.

Meanwhile, grate 1/2 onion and 1/4 carrot into the mixture bowl. Add one beaten egg. Mix well.

Now take handfuls of potatoes at a time and mix into your master bowl. You won't necessarily want to add all the potatoes, but add them handfuls at a time, mixing all the time. You want a consistency where the potatoes clump together, but it's still slightly runny. This is not a dry mixture- it is very wet.

Heat vegetable oil on medium-high at about 1" until hot. Drop large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan, forming into a small cake with your spoon as you go. I used a 16" pan and only did three at a time...you don't want to crowd or it will lower the oil temperature too much.

Fry about 3 minutes per side until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and plate up.

Mango Chimichurri:

Get a blender ready and add the following:

1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 olive oil
2 small handfuls of Italian parsley, chopped
1/3 of a ripe mango, diced
4 cloves garlic, through a press
salt and pepper

Blend well and set aside. Blend again before using or you might have froth develop and separation occur. I kept mine in the blender pending use.

Pan Seared Butter Shrimp:

8-10 shrimp. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, dried oregano and basil. Stir and mix well. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Heat 3 Tbs butter to medium-high and foaming. Add shrimp and increase heat to high, frying up a couple of minutes. DON'T OVERCOOK! Remove the shrimp to plate and drizzle oil atop.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Gorgonzola Burger with Spicy Roasted Tomato-Mango Salsa

You ever have those days when you must have a burger. I've needed one for weeks, but haven't got around to it. Then a friend told me about a 50/50 he experienced at a local restaurant (50% beef/50% bacon) and it sent me over the edge.

The patty:

Take a slab of ground beef and spice it up heavily with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic. Cover your hands with olive oil and work the spices into the meat. Have a few tablespoons of whole milk handy (have it handy before your hands have raw meat on them, you nasty man or woman), and incorporate that into the meat.

I know many people prefer to make a paste with milk and white bread, but I didn't really notice a major difference when I've tried that. It's your call...try it both ways and see which you like.

Once you've worked up the meat, form a thin patty and sprinkle gorgonzola on the middle of it. Form a pouch and then a ball, then work that puppy down into a new, thick patty. Put it on a plastic or wax paper sheet until you're ready to slap it on the grill...you'll be happy you did. Meanwhile, heat the grill to Death Valley hot.

Spicy Roasted Tomato-Mango Salsa:

5 vine rippened tomatoes with tops cut off
1-2 jalapeno peppers, tops off, seeds out and halved length-wise

Put all this in a broiler very close to heat and let em roast until you start getting charred marks. Turn it all after about 10 minutes and char some more. Maybe 20 minutes total. Remove straight into a processor.

Chop up 1 red onion and fry it in a super hot dry pan, along with 4 whole cloves of garlic. You'll see some smoke, but just breathe it in. Drop that mixture into the processor also.

Chop up a whole mango and drop it into the processor. Then add salt, pepper, 2 glugs of olive oil.

Wipe out your dry pan and add 1 tablespoon of whole cumin and the same amount of whole coriander. Dry roast them, then grind it all into a powder...add it into the processor.

Process this spicy goodness into a smooth salsa, then package it up for the fridge...it needs to cool and blend for at least 1 hour before use. The longer the better.

Back to the grill:

It's on high and you're ready with your burger...slap it on there. Lay a strip or two of bacon across the top, close the lid and let the fire work magic. Check it back in about 5 minutes and flip it, putting your bacon on the other side now. This will impart a nice taste and moisture, but you don't need to eat that bacon if you don't want. Let the burger cook another 5-7 minutes on that side and it's done.

Top your burger with your favorite condiments. Be careful, because the gorgonzola creates these little pockets of super-hot oil that can spray your face and burn you. Handle with care.

Enjoy!

~ Brock