Gambas al Ajillo

Name: Gambas al Ajillo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: 2 to 4 servings
Cuisine: Spanish Menu
Ingredients: Whole Prawns — 300 g; Extra Virgin Olive Oil — 150 ml; Garlic — 4 cloves; Dried Red Chillies — 2; Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley — To taste; Salt — To taste; Black Pepper — To taste

This classic gambas al ajillo features succulent prawns sizzled in a generous amount of premium extra virgin olive oil infused with pungent garlic and a fiery kick of dried chilli. Simple, elegant, and irresistibly aromatic, this quintessential Spanish tapa relies on high-quality ingredients to deliver a bold, garlicky punch that is perfect for enjoying immediately while the oil is still bubbling, ideally mopped up with crusty fresh bread.

Cuisines

Cooking Instructions

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 5 minutes

Servings: 2 to 4

Notes:

The choice of prawns is critical to success; buy the freshest you can afford, whether fresh or frozen, and always retain the tails, as they provide a beautiful presentation when served.

Clay pots (cazuelas) are traditional for this dish because they retain heat exceptionally well, allowing the oil to continue gently poaching the prawns even after you have removed the pot from the direct heat source.

The secret to the perfect flavour is adding the garlic and chilli to the oil while it is cold and allowing it to heat up together; this technique ensures the aromatics infuse the oil slowly rather than burning quickly on contact.

Never discard the prawn heads and shells; they are gold mines of flavour that can be set aside and simmered later to create a rich, complex seafood stock for other dishes.

Serve this dish sizzling hot; the residual heat of the clay pot is part of the experience, ensuring the dish remains warm as you and your guests enjoy the final, flavour-packed bites with crusty bread.

Prepare Prawns
Remove the heads and peel the shells from the prawns while leaving the tails intact, setting the shells aside for future stock, and then season the prawns with salt and pepper.

Prepare Aromatics
Peel the garlic cloves and slice them as thinly as possible, then thinly slice the dried red chillies, adjusting the quantity to suit your preferred level of spiciness.

Infuse Oil
Add the sliced garlic and chillies to a terracotta clay pot or skillet, pour in the extra virgin olive oil, and heat over high heat, allowing the aromatics to gently infuse as the oil comes to temperature.

Cook
Add the seasoned prawns to the sizzling oil, cook for 3 minutes on one side, turn them over, and cook for another minute before removing from the heat entirely.

Finish and Serve
Garnish immediately with finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and serve while the oil is still actively bubbling and piping hot.