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!
Heat the serving dishes in the oven, you want them hot.
Get your pan nice and hot then reduce to a medium flame.
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.
Let the flavors infuse for a minute or so, reducing the heat if the garlic begins to brown.
Crank up the heat, throw in the prawns and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the wine and reduce by about half. The prawns should curl a little.
Season then transfer to the heated dishes and garnish.
Serve with a wedge of lemon and plenty of soft bread to mop up that juice.
