This easy Spanish prawns recipe is full of flavour and super fast to make. Enjoy this Spanish tapas dish with a chunk of crusty bread to mop up that garlicky chilli oil and a glass of chilled wine in the sun.
Any other tapas fans out there? We love having Spanish tapas. The only thing better than one great dish is a table full of small tasty dishes to share. And let’s not forget about a large pitcher of fruity sangria to complete this feast.
One tapas dish that we always order is Gambas Pil Pil. These fragrant garlicky prawns in olive oil with red Spanish peppers are usually served in a terracotta dish that arrives at the table still sizzling hot!
Gambas Pil Pil is a super simple recipe that only requires 6 simple ingredients (plus salt and pepper). You only need one skillet or a heat proof terracotta dish to cook all the ingredients in. We like to serve these sizzling prawns straight from the pan.
You can serve this tapa as an appetizer or as a main meal with a simple salad on the side. Don’t forget some good quality bread to dip in that yummy sauce!
Pil Pil Sauce
The fragrant Spanish Pil Pil sauce is what takes these prawns to another level. The base of this sauce is a good quality olive oil. The oil is infused with fresh garlic, Spanish red chilli peppers and smokey sweet paprika powder. As always you can adapt the recipe to your preferences. We like adding lots of garlic for maximum flavour.
Spanish red chilli peppers are mildly hot. We usually don’t bother removing the seeds, but you can if you want to. The dish itself is not super spicy, but you can always add less if you are sensitive to spicy food. When in a pinch you can also add dried chilli flakes instead of fresh chilli pepper. Be careful though as these are usually spicier!
The smoked sweet paprika powder is what transforms this sauce completely. ‘Pimentón de la Vera Dulce’ is a popular ingredient in many Spanish and Mediterranean recipes. This spice very fragrant, a little goes a long way, but it absolutely elevates your dish to another level. Try to find the original version, it is worth it.
Sprinkle a handful of fresh parsley on the dish when the prawns are cooked. You don’t want to cook the parsley. Make sure to use fresh parsley, dried parsley has very little flavour.
Tips & Alternatives
- Prawns - Use whatever type you like best. We usually use a bag of pre-cleaned frozen prawns so we can always make this dish with pantry staples. Fresh prawns work perfect too, just make sure to clean them first. Adjust cooking time to the size of the prawns.
- Chillies - Spanish red chilli peppers are mildly hot. They will only infuse the oil with a bit of heat, it won’t be overpowering. You can swap the fresh chillies for ½ teaspoon of dried flakes if you want to. Dried chilli flakes are usually a lot spicier than the fresh variety.
- Parsley - Use up any leftover parsley by sprinkling it over other dishes. It usually tastes great over pasta and Mediterranean dishes. You could also make herb butter by adding chopped parsley, minced garlic and a pinch of salt to softened butter. This butter also freezes well. Parsley herb butter tastes great on a piece of baguette or add a knob of this butter to a freshly grilled steak so that it melts all over it.
For more shrimp deliciousness check out our Mexican Shrimp Salad. This shrimp salad is full of flavours and vibrant in colours making it a fiesta to eat. It can also be thrown together in under 30 minutes, making it a perfect midweek meal.
