This is an essential tapas dish of prawns (shrimp in the US) in garlic and chilli — well I hope it is; my Spanish is somewhat dubious. I’ve seen it on some menus as Gambas al pil-pil, but my title seemed more flamboyant.

This is a really simple tasty dish. I have no idea why I hadn’t thought of making it before today… don’t let that worry you; all my best creations come from taking a guess at how they should be done. This one came out spot on.

These quantities served two for lunch.

Ready

• about ¼ cup of good olive oil
• a couple of cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• dried chilli flakes, quantity to taste
• ½ lb peeled uncooked tiger prawns — make sure you get uncooked else they will come out overcooked
• ½ cup white wine
• salt and pepper to season
• flat leaf parsley to garnish

Set

• a pan — I like black iron myself
• 2 small heat-proof dishes to serve in

Go

1. Heat the serving dishes in the oven, you want them hot.
2. Get your pan nice and hot then reduce to a medium flame.
3. Pour in the oil and add the garlic and chilli — this should be a spicy dish, but don’t overdo it as the oil will bring out all the flavor from the chillies.
4. Let the flavors infuse for a minute or so, reducing the heat if the garlic begins to brown.
5. Crank up the heat, throw in the prawns and stir for a couple of minutes.
6. Add the wine and reduce by about half. The prawns should curl a little.
7. Season then transfer to the heated dishes and garnish.
8. Serve with a wedge of lemon and plenty of soft bread to mop up that juice.