Gambas al Ajillo – 10 minute Spanish garlic shrimp

• Prawns – You can use any size of prawns or shrimps since oftentimes we use them interchangeably. But this dish tastes best with medium to large size. They take some time to cook and the flavour uptake would be better.
• Olive oil – Use good quality, extra virgin olive oil since you are literally going to be dipping your prawns and bread together in it to chomp chomp.
• Paprika – You can use smoked paprika if you want it spicier, but paprika flakes work perfectly for balance.
• White wine – Lemon and a splash of white wine will add much-needed acidity to the dish. It is optional, you can totally skip it, but I like the tartness that wine adds to gambas al ajillo.
• Garlic – Don’t be stingy when it comes to garlic, this is where the flavour gods reside. Make sure you don’t overheat the olive oil and over cook or burn the garlic, else you will have a very strong and overpowering burnt garlic flavour instead of the light, subtle one.

• Prawns – 10-12
• Olive oil – 1/3 cup
• Garlic – 7-10 cloves, sliced
• Paprika – 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice – 1/4 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Olives – 10-12 (optional)
• White wine – splash (optional)
• Butter – 1 cube, chilled

Method

• Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom, seasoned pan. Add the sliced garlic cloves and swirl for 2 minutes on low heat. Add paprika flakes and salt, olives (if using) and lemon juice. Mix and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the shrimp, cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat, and flip. Add white wine while the shrimps continue to cook on the other side.
• When the shrimp have cooked on both sides, take the pan pff the heat and add the butter cube. Let it melt and mix it with the sauce.

Dish out and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve with crusty sourdough bread!