QUICK AND TASTY SPANISH TAPA: SHRIMP IN SPICY GARLIC PEPPER SAUCE FOR TWO

This is one of the most important shrimp dishes in Spain. Depending on the area this dish can be called “gambas al pil-pil” or “gambas al ajillo” amongst other names. However, whatever they call it, the point is that it is a delicious dish and extremely easy to make! There are different recipes and ways to cook it. Here I’m posting the recipe that I normally follow. This dish has to be served with bread on the side (for the bread, please try my recipe of easy homemade bread, you will be so proud to see your own bread in the oven!): http://buenisimowithdanielbuenos.blogspot.com/2015/01/so-easy-home-made-bread-recipe.html) so you can dip it in the flavorful spicy oil sauce. And to drink, a nice glass of ice cold Rueda Verdejo wine. Enjoy! Cheers!

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 peeled large raw shrimp (dry the shrimp with paper towels to avoid excess of moisture).
• ½ tablespoon of  slightly minced parsley
• 2 sliced large garlic cloves
• ¼ teaspoon of black pepper corns
• 1 medium size red hot chilly pepper
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 2 pinches of salt (it is a bit more of a half of ¼ teaspoon)
• 2 pinches of paprika (it is a bit more of a half of ¼ teaspoon)

In Spain we normally cook this dish in a clay pot as the photo attached. This time we will cook this recipe in a frying pan (it can be non-stick) since normally we have these at home (a good size for the quantities above will be 7 to 7 ½ inch frying pan) and no worries, the dish will still come out very tasty! One of the things that make this dish so easy to make is that all the ingredients will be added into the frying pan before putting the pan on the stove. So let’s start adding the ingredients in the following order:

• Add the oil
• Add the garlic
• Add the shrimp and spread out evenly
• Sprinkle the pepper corns on top
• Break the hot chilly pepper with your fingers in 3 or 4 pieces over the pan and add the pieces as you are breaking them
• Sprinkle the paprika, salt and parsley on top

Now place the frying pan on the stove, medium heat. When the oil starts bubbling, stir occasionally for about 2 minutes (or when you see that the garlic and the shrimp start getting just a bit golden). Immediately remove the pan from the stove. The dish will finish cooking with the remaining heat in the frying pan. As you can see the total cooking process is quick, so if you get just a bit distracted you can have the garlic completely brown and you don’t want that (just a bit brown is acceptable).

In Spain we normally serve this dish right after we remove it from the fire and people start eating it when the bubbles in the oil almost have disappeared. You can do that if you are serving the dish in the frying pan. Sometimes I serve this dish that way (it looks very country!).

If you don’t want to serve the dish in the frying pan and want to transfer it a plate or a ceramic baking tray, please wait at least until the  bubbles in the oil have almost disappeared and then transfer. Please serve the dish quickly as it has to be served hot.

ADD SOME PASTA AND MAKE IT A MEAL!

The only difference from above besides including pasta to the dish is that the shrimp will need to be cooked in a bigger and hollower frying pan and also you will need to add a little bit more than ½ cup of oil (as an option, you can cut the shrimp in the middle in two to spread more shrimp throughout the pasta dish; please note that the halves of shrimp will curl beautifully when they get fried). When we are reaching the above mentioned 2 minutes of cooking, instead of removing the fry pan from the fire, add the drained pasta (don’t forget to add salt to the water where you boil the pasta) and stir frequently for about 30 seconds. Remove the fry pan from the fire. The dish is ready to serve. Sprinkle some shredded Manchego or Parmesan cheese on top of each plate before bringing them to the table.

BUENISMIMO!

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