Spanish Cuisine
Gambas al Ajillo
Prawns seared in furiously hot olive oil with garlic and guindilla chilli, brought to the table still bubbling in the cazuela.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
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History & Origin
Gambas al ajillo grew out of two southern traditions: Andalusia's white prawns (the gamba blanca of Huelva and the Bay of Cádiz) and the Moorish-era habit of cooking in small earthenware cazuelas that go from flame to table. In the fishing towns of the south, the freshest prawns were simply flashed in local olive oil with the garlic that grows everywhere in Spain.
From there it spread to Madrid's old tascas, which now claim it as their own, and on to Spanish restaurants everywhere. The cazuela matters more than it looks: the thick clay holds the oil at a sizzle long after it leaves the stove, so the dish arrives at the table still cooking and the whole room smells of garlic.
Ingredients & Instructions
- Pat the prawns very dry and season with salt. Have everything else ready at the stove; this dish takes three minutes and waits for no one.
- Put the oil, garlic, and chilli in a cazuela or heavy frying pan over medium heat. Let the garlic warm up with the oil until it turns pale gold and fragrant. Don't let it brown, or the dish turns bitter.
- Raise the heat to high and add the prawns in a single layer. Cook for about a minute per side, until just pink and curled.
- If using, add the sherry off the flame (it will spit) and swirl the pan for a few seconds.
- Scatter with parsley and bring the pan to the table still audibly sizzling. The prawns are half the dish; the garlic-chilli oil, mopped with bread, is the other half.
Notes
Buy the best raw prawns you can and never use pre-cooked ones; they turn to rubber. If you have prawn heads and shells, warm them in the oil first and discard before the garlic goes in; the oil doubles in flavour.