Sizzling Garlic Prawns (Gambas al Ajillo) with Chilli and Parsley
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen, NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
Lightly salted prawns are cooked quickly in olive oil slowly infused with garlic and chilli, then finished with parsley and lemon and served with crusty bread.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Salt the prawns. Pat the prawns dry, toss with the salt and chill 15 minutes.
- 2
Infuse the oil. Put the oil, garlic and chilli in a cold pan and heat over medium-low for 6-8 minutes until the garlic is pale gold. Do not let it brown.
- 3
Cook the prawns. Raise the heat to medium, add the prawns in one layer and cook 2 minutes. Turn and cook 1-2 minutes more until pink and opaque all the way through (63 °C).
- 4
Finish. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and lemon juice.
- 5
Serve. Serve sizzling from the pan with bread to dip in the garlic oil.
Storage
Best eaten straight away. Refrigerate leftovers within 1 hour, eat within 1 day and reheat gently until just hot (63 °C). Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- large bowl
- kitchen paper
- 30 cm cast-iron or heavy frying pan (or a terracotta cazuela)
- tongs
- instant-read thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 595 kcal |
| Protein | 41.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 28.6 g |
| of which sugars | 2.5 g |
| of which free sugars | 2.4 g |
| Fat | 35.9 g |
| of which saturates | 5.1 g |
| Fibre | 1.4 g |
| Salt | 2.01 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
6.9 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
