Gambas al Ajillo

Storing and Planning Ahead

Eat immediately. Cooked prawns keep 1 day but reheating makes them rubbery — eat them cold in a salad instead.

How to Make Gambas al Ajillo

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Pat the prawns completely dry and season them with half the salt.

   Mark done

2. Put the olive oil, sliced garlic and crumbled chillies in a cold cazuela or heavy frying pan.

   Mark done

3. Set over medium-low heat and let it come up slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the garlic turns pale gold and the oil smells intensely of it. Do not let it brown.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

4. Raise the heat to high. Add the prawns in a single layer and cook for 90 seconds without moving them.

   Mark done Start 90 sec timer

5. Turn them and add the paprika and sherry. Cook 60 to 90 seconds more, until the prawns have just turned opaque and curled into a loose C shape.

   Mark done Start 60 sec timer

6. Take off the heat immediately, season with the remaining salt and scatter with parsley.

   Mark done

7. Serve bubbling in the pan with bread (optional) and lemon.

   Mark done

Related guide: Ingredient substitutions.

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

Tips for Success

• A prawn curled into a tight O is overcooked; a loose C is perfect.
• The oil is the point. Use enough of it and use the best you have.
• An earthenware cazuela holds heat and keeps the dish sizzling at the table, but any heavy pan works.

Behind the Recipe

Starting the garlic in cold oil and bringing it up slowly extracts its aromatics into the oil without scorching it — the oil, not the prawns, is the real product here. Prawns need only 90 seconds a side; anything longer and their proteins tighten into rubber.

What to Put Next to It

A cold fino sherry or an Albariño · Serve with bread, and other tapas alongside · Follow with tortilla española

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. The calories include 1 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

Gluten-free when served without the crusty bread.

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Your own rating out of 5

5 stars★ 4 stars★ 3 stars★ 2 stars★ 1 star★

Your note

Save note

Private to you: notes and ratings are saved in this browser only, are never sent anywhere, and other readers cannot see them.