Gambas al Ajillo

Gambas al Ajillo (Spanish Garlic Prawns)

A classic tapas dish of prawns sizzling in a bath of olive oil perfumed with sliced garlic and dried chilli. Best served piping hot in the cazuela, with plenty of bread to soak up the intensely flavoured oil.

Prep

10 min

Cook

10 min

Total

20 min

Serves

4 as a tapa

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •450 g (1 lb) whole raw prawns, shell-on, head-on if possible for flavour; thawed if frozen
• •120 ml (½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, Spanish olive oil preferred
• •8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, not minced
• •2 pieces dried chilli (Ñora or guindilla), seeds removed, torn into pieces; substitute with a pinch of red chilli flakes
• •15 g (½ oz) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• •1 tbsp dry sherry (manzanilla or fino), or null if omitted
• •1 pinch sea salt, to taste
• •1 to serve (to serve) crusty bread, essential for mopping the oil

Steps

1. 1 Peel the prawns, keeping the tails intact. Reserve the heads and shells if you have them; if so, toast them briefly in a dry pan over high heat for 2 minutes to build deeper flavour (optional but traditional).
2. 2 Pat the peeled prawns very dry with paper towels; moisture will cause the oil to spatter.
3. 3 In a wide, heavy pan (a clay cazuela is traditional; a stainless or cast-iron skillet works fine), combine the olive oil, sliced garlic and torn dried chilli. Place over low–medium heat and warm gently for 3–4 minutes until the garlic is pale gold and fragrant — do not let the garlic brown or it will turn bitter.
4. 4 If using the reserved prawn heads/shells, add them now and increase the heat to medium-high for 1 minute to infuse the oil.
5. 5 Strain the oil through a fine sieve into a cazuela or small ovenproof earthenware dish (discard the shells, keep the garlic and chilli). The dish should be warm at this point.
6. 6 Season the prawns with a pinch of sea salt. Heat the strained oil in the cazuela over medium-high heat until shimmering and just beginning to ripple.
7. 7 Add the prawns in a single layer and let them sizzle undisturbed for 45 seconds, then flip and cook another 45 seconds to 1 minute. They are done when they turn pink, curl into a loose C-shape, and the flesh is opaque all the way through (internal temperature 62 °C / 145 °F).
8. 8 Off the heat, stir in the dry sherry (if using) — it will hiss and foam — and scatter over the chopped parsley.
9. 9 Serve immediately, sizzling, straight from the cazuela, with thick slices of crusty bread for mopping up the oil.
10. 10 SAFETY NOTE ON GARLIC IN OIL: Garlic-in-oil mixtures held at room temperature can harbour Clostridium botulinum. This dish is meant to be eaten at once while the oil is still hot. Do not store leftovers at room temperature; refrigerate any leftovers and consume within 24 hours, or freeze for longer storage.