Garlic Prawns (Gambas Al Ajillo)
This recipe for garlic prawns is so easy to make and will impress your family and guests.
Ingredients
- 48 small uncooked prawns weighing about 1 1/3 lb, shelled and deveined, with tail shell left on
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves peeled and bruised
- 6 small dried chillies
- 8 small fresh bay leaves
- freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon
- sea salt
alioli
- 5 garlic cloves finely chopped
- a large pinch of salt
- 3 1/3 floz extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice plus extra to taste
- 3 1/3 floz sunflower oil
- fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 4 individual cazuelas terracotta ramekins, 10 - 12 cm diameter, preheated in a hot oven
Instructions
- To make the alioli, pound the garlic and a large pinch of salt to a smooth, thick, creamy consistency with a mortar and pestle. Slowly drip in the olive oil, mixing with the pestle. Switch to a whisk and mix in the lemon juice, pepper and, little by little, half the sunflower oil. Add 1-2 teaspoons cold water and whisk well while adding the remaining 50 ml oil. The mixture will be very thick. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the garlic to mellow, then add salt, pepper and extra lemon juice to taste.
- To prepare the prawns, put on a plate and sprinkle lightly with salt. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and fry until brown. Add the chillies, bay leaves and prawns all at once and fry without turning until the prawns are crusted and curled on one side, then turn them over and crust the other side, about 3 1/2 minutes in total.
- Transfer to the preheated cazuelas, sprinkle with lemon juice and top with a spoonful of alioli.
- Serve immediately while still bubbling hot.
- Alioli, sometimes spelt 'allioli', is used with all sorts of dishes. Often an egg yolk is mixed in after the garlic is creamy, making it a little closer to the French aioli. It's pungent yet delicious. When first made, it is quite strong, but after about 30 minutes the flavour really mellows. For an even milder taste, blanch the garlic cloves until just soft, then pop them out of their skins and pound to a cream.
Calories: 612 kcal
Carbohydrates: 9 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 64g
Saturated Fat: 8 g
Cholesterol: 19 mg
Sodium: 23 mg
Potassium: 292 mg
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 4 g
Vitamin A: 656 IU
Vitamin C: 101 mg
Calcium: 37 mg
Iron: 1 mg