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.