Gambas al Ajillo (Spanish-Style Sizzling Garlic Shrimp)

Zutaten

1½ pounds extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

½–1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Crusty bread

Anweisungen

1. Toss shrimp and salt together in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

2. Heat oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat until garlic is light golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Add shrimp and cook until bottoms are light pink, about 2 minutes. Working quickly, flip shrimp and cook until just cooked through and pink all over, about 2 minutes longer. Off heat, stir in parsley. Serve immediately, directly from skillet, with crusty bread.

Notizen

It is important to use untreated shrimp—those without added sodium or preservatives such as sodium tripolyphosphate—in this recipe; treated shrimp contain too much sodium and may have off-flavors. Most frozen E-Z peel shrimp have been treated (the ingredient list should tell you). We like the heat of a full teaspoon of pepper flakes; for a milder dish, use the lesser amount.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS To make this dish inspired by the Spanish tapas bar classic, we reached for high-quality frozen shrimp that we thawed and peeled ourselves. We gently cooked fresh minced garlic in a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil with red pepper flakes until golden brown. Then we added the shrimp, which we seasoned ahead of time, to the infused oil to gently cook for a few minutes per side. Using a cast-iron skillet set over medium- low heat helped keep the heat even and gentle, and it held the cooked shrimp in its leftover warmth when served directly from the skillet. Crusty bread was the perfect vehicle to soak up and enjoy the remaining oil once the shrimp had all been eaten.