Gambas Al Ajillo

I am still sharing my Spanish adventures, though this one is a Spanish adventure from my own kitchen yet again. I will get back to sharing the adventures of our trip shortly. But first, It is time for some gambas al ajillo.

Gambas al ajillo, or garlic shrimp, is one of my favorites. It’s loaded with shrimp and garlic. Could it be any better? Gambas al ajillo is a traditional Spanish tapas plate that is enjoyed just about everywhere. Both the Basque areas of Spain and the Canary and Balearic Islands are known for their seafood, so it could have originated in either one of those areas. All I know is that it is mui delicioso! It is also one of the dishes I made for our own tapas party last week. Visiting With Andrea As expected, this was yet another big hit.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures because I thought I had already shared this recipe with you. But alas, I was wrong. So I will recreate it and share it with you now. 🙂 As I was busy cooking and getting everything ready for our party, I put Elizabeth in charge of the camera.

Garlic Shrimp

Of course I did what I always do, and made this dish my own. That’s just what I do. I am like the classically trained artists who then break the mold to create their own art. My art is my food. I am like Picasso or Dali and my medium is food. I also doubled my recipe.

1 lb large shrimp, peel and deveined

6 TBSP olive oil

2-3 TBSP lemon olive oil, optional

1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tsp fried garlic in chili oil, optional

1 heaping TBSP garlic

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Get a large skillet very hot, then add the oil(s), garlic and peppers. Saute for about 1-2 minutes, or until they become nice and fragrant. Add the shrimp, wine and salt and pepper and cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp is completely pink and thoroughly cooked. Stir frequently.

Add the parsley right at the end and mix in, then top again with a bit more parsley. Traditionally this dish is served with a hard crusted bread too so you can dip the bread in the sauce. Trust me, you don’t want to let any of this delicious sauce go to waste. 🙂

We had a vast array of delicious foods at our tapas party, so needless to say I had some leftovers. You all know how much I love to recreate from my leftovers, so that I did too, but I didn’t have enough of any one thing to make a meal for three people. I invited the “Queen” over, and she and I did what we do best, and recreated something by combining what was left to make it into a Spanish pasta.

I had some of my vegetable salad left, as well as a few shrimp and some of the smoked pork loin. With a wave or two of my magic wooden spoon, I tossed them all together, added some more salt & pepper and heavy whipping cream and served it all over fettuccine. !Delicioso! Andrea raved about it, and was so impressed with how I recreated from my leftovers. She had no idea I could recreate like this from leftovers. As I always say, play with your food. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.