Prawn patty

I have to admit, without beating about the bush, that I’ve done something terribly stupid. Forgive me, but I have to write this. You may disown Prymitywna Kuchnia altogether, and that’ll be all I get for being honest, but yes. That’s right.

I bought an electric griddle. Stupidity of the highest order, right? Apart from worrying about my own dimensions (in the context of owning such a devilish device), what can you actually do on a griddle like this? All that comes to mind is every burger joint in Warsaw, where outstanding beef burgers are cooked on just such a contraption (albeit a much bigger one).

In fact, that was exactly why I bought my griddle. To make burgers. Hence the concern about dimensions: mine. That’s also why I bought a fairly large one (50 cm long — wow — by 26 cm, just the cooking surface), and completely flat. Not with grooves, not half and half, but totally flat. With burgers in mind, of course. Nobody is paying me for this, so I’ll only say that I chose a Polish brand :)))) and you’ll never guess which one 😉 Look how primitive it is:

What decided my choice: flatness, price and size. I didn’t even know you could buy what seems to be a perfectly decent griddle for a hundred złoty. It has one enormous drawback: it doesn’t fit in the dishwasher 😉

So Prymitywna Kuchnia is growing.

Today I used my griddle for the first time, although I’ve had it for several days. Naturally, a burger was first up. Perhaps you could suggest what else I can make on it? Judging by the packaging, hehe, everything…

Not classic burgers (the beef is waiting for tomorrow), but seafood ones. Specifically, today I came up with a burger with a prawn patty. But to make that, you need a prawn patty. I honestly had no idea how to make one. I thought about it, experimented a bit and worked something out.

So my prawn patty is 100% my own creation. Truly primitive. While cooking, it may look as though it’s about to fall apart, but it doesn’t. It turns out quite firm and can easily be loaded into a bun. I recommend it, because it’s really tasty, as prawn dishes generally are. If you like them, of course.

At a glance: 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Serves: makes one patty (so, for one person)

How many calories: it seems to have a few, but the taste makes up for everything

Ingredients for a prawn patty:

• 8 large tiger prawns
• 2 medium shallots
• half a hot red chilli pepper
• 1 hen’s egg
• 1 tablespoon of butter (softened)
• 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon of wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon of light mayonnaise
• a pinch of salt
• two pinches of ground black pepper

Recipe for a tasty seafood patty:

I made my prawn patty entirely by instinct. It turned out well, but I cooked it on a griddle. I haven’t tried cooking it in a frying pan. Importantly, though, I think it should be cooked like a burger, without added fat. So if you don’t have a griddle and are using a frying pan, it must be well heated and have no fat in it.

If you want to make more patties, simply multiply the ingredients by the number of patties. This recipe gives the ingredients for one prawn patty (which is perfect for a prawn burger).

1. I put the prawns into boiling water for about 5 minutes.

2. I chopped the shallots very finely and did the same with the hot chilli pepper. I put them in a small bowl.

3. I cracked the egg into the bowl and added the breadcrumbs and flour, seasonings (salt and pepper), butter and mayonnaise.

4. I shelled the prawns and cut them into pieces about 2 – 3 cm long (they shouldn’t be too small, because the prawns should not only provide flavour but also be clearly noticeable in the patty). I added them to the bowl of batter.

5. I mixed everything thoroughly with a spoon. The mixture resembles thick pancake batter. It is very sticky.

6. I heated my flat griddle to its highest temperature. I quickly shaped something resembling a patty in my hands (but remember, and don’t be discouraged: the mixture is sticky and the shape doesn’t have to be perfect). The important thing is to get the patty quickly onto the well-heated griddle (or into the pan, if that’s what you’re using). You can see what the patty looked like in the photos below.

7. I cooked it on one side for 5 minutes, then turned it over and cooked it for another 5 minutes. Finally, I turned it back onto the first side and cooked it for another 2 minutes. Prawn patty ready.

You can use this patty to build a delicious prawn burger. Of course, you can also eat it on its own or with side dishes, as a main meal. Enjoy!