Sizzling Chili Shrimp or Gambas al Pil Pil (also known as Gambas al Ajillo) is a glorious dish that you will find in almost any restaurant in Spain, especially in Andalusia. The dish is usually served with crusty bread, like a French baguette. The recipe is very easy and takes no time to make. It is great as an appetizer, or just a quick meal if you prefer. Serve it right next to your favorite wine and you are in for a real treat.
Today I am going to take you on a journey to Spain. We cannot always travel when we want, but we can always take a trip somewhere through food. This recipe is delicious. The combination of flavors works very well and actually becomes a whole new deep flavor that is best savored by dipping crusty bread in the flavorful olive oil.
In Spain, this recipe is cooked in a small clay pot, or a cazuela, as they call it, directly on the fire. I don’t have one, but I am looking for a while now to find the perfect one.
Sizzling Chili Shrimp is a super quick recipe that can even be made while your guests are sat at the table, as the perfect starter, when entertaining. You can adjust the amount of chili you use to suit your taste, and the type of paprika, whether hot or mild. I like for example, the smoked Spanish paprika, but it is just a matter of preference.
How to Make this Sizzling Chili Shrimp-Spanish Recipe:
I heated up some olive oil in a pan and added a few chopped cloves of garlic to saute for 30 seconds. Crushed red chili flakes went over the garlic and oil and I cooked them for 10 seconds only to develop the flavors and the heat. I then, added the raw, cleaned, deveined, with no shells, jumbo shrimp.
Then, sweet paprika and a pinch of salt were added over the shrimp. The shrimp cooks in only 2-3 minutes but you have to stir all the time, until the shrimp turns pink and starts to curl.
And this is it! So simple, that it doesn’t really need a recipe, right? You can serve it directly from the cooking dish, but you can transfer it to a nice ceramic plate, while still sizzling. Toothpicks and chunks or slices of crusty bread to mop up the aromatic olive oil are perfect for serving. If you are truly adventurous, you can try this recipe for homemade bread.
AMAZING!
- 1 lb/500 g raw jumbo shrimp, cleaned with no shells
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes
- 6 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ½ tsp sweet Spanish Paprika
- pinch of salt
- crusty bread to serve
- Heat up the olive oil in a pan on medium heat.
- Add the chopped garlic and saute for 30 seconds making sure to stir all the time (garlic burns really fast)
- Throw the crushed red chili peppers in the oil and cook for 10 seconds.
- Add the shrimp, sweet Spanish paprika and a pinch of salt in your pan.
- Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until the shrimp turns pink and starts to curl.
- Remove and serve while sizzling in the same pan or transfer to a ceramic plate.
- Serve with toothpicks and chunks or slices of crusty bread to dip in the aromatic olive oil.
Kimberly says
Thanks so much for sharing. I made it for my family last week and they all love it.
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Kimberly, That is awesome. Thank you for coming back and sharing this with me. I love this recipe too and make it quite often.