Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp)

[jhirshon]

I thought I'd share my version of The Hirshon Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp). To my palate, this is the best version, let's see if others agree with me - and share their recipes as well for a cookoff by some enterprising eGulleteer.

The gauntlet is thrown down!

cheers, JH

______________________________

The Hirshon Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp)

1/2 cup butter (one stick)

1/2 cup extra virgin Olive Oil

12 cloves Chopped Spanish Purple Garlic

2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled, soaked in salty water for 20 minutes, washed and drained

1/4 cup beef broth

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. smoked Spanish Paprika

3 T. crushed dried chili peppers, (I prefer cascabel for this recipe)

2 Bay (laurel) leaves

1/2 cup Fino Sherry wine

Salt and Black pepper, to taste

1/3 cup Chopped Parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh Thyme leaves

1. Melt together butter, olive oil, and garlic and simmer until light brown; set aside on low heat.

3. Simmer together beef broth, lemon juice, paprika, bay leaves, chili peppers; set aside on low heat.

4. Heat oven to 500 degrees F. with large terra cotta cazuela or ceramic dish on oven shelf.

5. When the cazuela becomes very hot, remove to the top of the stove.

6. Bring butter and olive oil solution to a boil and add immediately. Add shrimp and stir with a wooden spoon until they turn pink. Add sherry and broth (which has been brought to a boil).

7. Stir, add in parsley and thyme, stir again and return to oven for 5 minutes.

8. Serve with rice or bread to absorb the juices!

[docsconz]

Sounds good. I like the Penelope Casas recipe in her Tapas book.

[Rogelio]

I rather have the simplest version:

- Olive oil

- Fresh and raw peeled prawns (This makes the difference)

- Thinly sliced garlic

- 1 or 2 Cayenne peppers

- Chopped parsley

- Salt

Heat (high fire) the olive oil with the garlic slices and cayenne on a clay pan, once the garlic are brown (but not burned) add the (already salted) prawns, remove a few seconds and retire from the stove. Add the chopped parsley and eat straight away from the pan.

[Saborosa]

jhirshon:

A quick question: when the cazuela is moved to the top of the stove, I assume it's not heated - everything cooks due to the residual heat from the cazuela and the heat of the added liquids? Is that right?

k

[Anna N]

I rather have the simplest version:

- Olive oil

- Fresh and raw peeled prawns (This makes the difference)

- Thinly sliced garlic

- 1 or 2 Cayenne peppers

- Chopped parsley

- Salt

Heat (high fire) the olive oil with the garlic slices and cayenne on a clay pan, once the garlic are brown (but not burned) add the (already salted) prawns, remove a few seconds and retire from the stove. Add the chopped parsley and eat straight away from the pan.

←

That's almost the same recipe I use - so simple, so good and guests are impressed.

[docsconz]

I rather have the simplest version:

- Olive oil

- Fresh and raw peeled prawns (This makes the difference)

- Thinly sliced garlic

- 1 or 2 Cayenne peppers

- Chopped parsley

- Salt

Heat (high fire) the olive oil with the garlic slices and cayenne on a clay pan, once the garlic are brown (but not burned) add the (already salted) prawns, remove a few seconds and retire from the stove. Add the chopped parsley and eat straight away from the pan.

←

That's almost the same recipe I use - so simple, so good and guests are impressed.

←

This is very similar to Casa's recipe, except that she adds a little pimenton, which I love in this dish.

[Silly Disciple]

JH,

why do you need to put them in the hot oven for 5 minutes after they have already cooked in the cazuela?

[jhirshon]

JH,

why do you need to put them in the hot oven for 5 minutes after they have already cooked in the cazuela?

←

It needs the extra time in the oven to bring the sauce to perfection - try it and you'll see.

cheers, JH

[jhirshon]

jhirshon:

A quick question: when the cazuela is moved to the top of the stove, I assume it's not heated - everything cooks due to the residual heat from the cazuela and the heat of the added liquids? Is that right?

k

←

Correct - final cooking happens in the oven, after the first heat treatment.

cheers, JH

[Silly Disciple]

JH,

why do you need to put them in the hot oven for 5 minutes after they have already cooked in the cazuela?

←

It needs the extra time in the oven to bring the sauce to perfection - try it and you'll see.

cheers, JH

←

In that case, I would just keep on cooking the sauce, but remove the shrimps. I go with Rogelio on this one, cooking them for the minimum possible time and not a second more.

[athinaeos]

i follow the simple version of the recipe with minor changes:

1. i do not salt the shrimp at all

2. i prepare a very dense reddish sauce from gamba's heads stock - this sauce has salt in it and a bit of garlic and pepper

3. 30 seconds after the gambas have been thrown in the pan, i add a cup of the steaming sauce for every pound of gambas in the sizzling hot pan , remove the pan from the fire, and leave the whole thing to homogenize itself in the very hot pan for about one minute