Gambas al Ajillo
ITALIAN · ITALY

Gambas al Ajillo

Gambas al ajilloSnack

Sizzling shrimp in a pool of garlic-and-chilli olive oil, served straight from the pan with bread to mop up every drop. Spain's tapas-bar classic, done the way a Sevillian bar does it: garlic and guindilla bloomed low and slow, prawns in for barely a minute.

Total
23 min
Heat
3/5
Serves
2

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Briny
  • Garlicky
  • Rich
  • Spicy

The real deal

Region
Andalusia, southern Spain — the tapas bars of Seville and Madrid serve it sizzling in terracotta cazuelas.
Technique
Garlic and guindilla chillies bloomed in generous olive oil over gentle heat, then raw prawns cooked in that same oil so they release their juices into it; a splash of sherry or brandy flamed off at the end.
We kept
No tomato, no onion, no paprika shortcuts — just garlic, chilli, prawns, olive oil and a splash of sherry. The oil is the sauce, not a cooking medium to be discarded.

Ingredients

2 Serves

pan

  • 300 g · peeled, tails on
  • 6 cloves · sliced thin
  • 3 · dried, broken in half, seeds shaken out
  • 120 ml · mild, not extra-virgin peppery
  • 2 tbsp · fino or manzanilla

finish

  • 1 pinch
  • 2 tbsp · optional · chopped

serve

  • 1 · optional · torn into chunks

Method

  1. Slice the thinly and evenly, so every slice browns at the same moment. Snap the in half and shake out most of the seeds; leave a few in if you want the heat. Peel the , leaving the last tail segment on, and pat them thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Damp prawns spit and steam instead of searing. Chop the roughly and set it aside for the finish.

    Save the shells: simmer them in a little water for ten minutes and you have a prawn stock for another day.

  2. Pour the into a small frying pan or terracotta cazuela and set it over low heat. Add the garlic and chillies and let them bloom gently for 3 min, swirling now and then. The garlic should turn pale gold and smell sweet, never brown — the moment it darkens, the oil turns bitter.

    Low and slow is the whole trick: garlic that browns too fast gives you a harsh, acrid oil and no sweetness.

  3. Turn the heat to high heat and drop in the prawns in one layer. Cook for just 1 min, turning once, until they curl and turn opaque and the oil bubbles hard around them. Do not overcook them: they go rubbery in seconds.

    If your pan is small, cook the prawns in two batches — crowd them and they steam rather than fry.

  4. Pull the pan off the heat for a second, pour in the , then set it back over high heat and let it bubble hard for 30 sec until the alcohol smell is gone and the oil looks glossy and slightly emulsified.

  5. Take the pan off the heat, scatter over the and a good pinch of , and carry the pan to the table while it is still sizzling. Serve with torn for the oil.

    Eat it immediately — gambas al ajillo waits for no one, and cold garlic oil loses its perfume.

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Make it a meal

What hits hardest next to it.

  • BreadStarchyRich

    Torn bread dragged through the garlicky oil is half the point of the dish.

    Try: Warm crusty baguette or pan de pueblo, torn not sliced

    Nothing on the site fits yet. Ask the Lab to cook one up →

  • SaladFreshSourCrunchy

    A sharp, cold salad cuts the richness of all that oil and resets your palate.

    Try: Tomato and onion salad with sherry vinegar and flaky salt

    From our kitchen

  • DrinkLightSour

    A cold, dry sherry or crisp white loosens the garlic and lets you keep eating.

    Try: Fino or manzanilla, served very cold

    Nothing on the site fits yet. Ask the Lab to cook one up →