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Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo) are a classic Spanish tapas dish. Succulent shrimp in a spicy garlicky sauce that you will need to dip your bread into!
I am so excited to share another tapas dish with you today! As I mentioned a few weeks ago when I posted my first tapa, I was asked by Fred Meyer to develop a Spanish recipe to celebrate their Taste of Spain event. They only asked me to do one recipe, but I was so into it that I ended up thinking of several that I wanted to try out. The good news is that the Taste of Spain event is officially ON right now, from April 3rd-16th in Fred Meyer and ALL Kroger stores! So if you want to explore some Spanish cuisine, now is the time!
Actually, I discovered something really funny that I had to share with you all. When I did this photo shoot, I wanted a bottle of Spanish wine for the photos. I stood in the wine aisle in Fred Meyer for…let’s just say awhile, trying to pick out a bottle and I finally settled on the Marque de Caceres Rioja. The wine didn’t make it into most of the photos (the above photo is the only one that it ended up being in), but it is still there, lending its ambiance. As I was going through my study abroad photos from my time in Spain in 2004, I noticed that in a few of the photos of my last dinner in Spain, the same exact wine that I bought for my photo shoot was on the table! I didn’t remember the wine at all when I bought it, but I ended up buying the same exact wine for my photo shoot 12 years later. How funny is that?? I may be overly excited about it, but I made you a collage to show you the wine that I bought a few weeks ago for my Spanish recipes and the two really bad photos I found of the same wine in Spain in 2004. Also please excuse the terrible quality of the photos, as I said it was 2004 – no smartphone, and I didn’t even have a digital camera. I think I had my point and shoot camera on a nighttime setting that made all the photos blurry. That or I had too much wine. Probably both.
ANYWAY, you are probably not as excited about this as I am, so let’s get back to the garlic shrimp, or Gambas al Ajillo as they are called in Spain. This is a simple tapa dish that is garlicky and spicy. One thing to note is you really are going to want some nice bread to serve with this to dip into the garlicky, spicy sauce that the shrimp are in.
This garlic shrimp is a simple tapa dish that is garlicky and spicy.
Shrimp cook very quickly, so be sure to have all of the ingredients ready to go. This one comes together in a few minutes, and it is by far the easiest of the tapa I have posted so far. I liked serving this as part of a tapas spread, in this case I served it with patatas bravas and ham croquettes.
Have a tapas party!
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Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo)
Ingredients
- 1 pound large raw shrimp
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4-6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon spanish smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
- salt
- pepper
- chopped parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- Add butter, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes to a sauté pan and heat over medium heat.
- Sauté for about 1 minute or until garlic becomes fragrant, being careful not to burn it.
- Add the paprika, lemon juice and shrimp and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until shrimp are pink and cooked through.
- Season with salt and pepper, and pour shrimp and oil into serving dish. Top with parsley if desired and serve with crusty bread for dipping.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you make this recipe don’t forget to tag it @foxandbriar and #foxandbriar on instagram and facebook! I really love to see what you make and you may be featured in our weekly Reader Feature!
Made tonight, delicious! Coincided with Jon Rahm (a Spaniard) winning the Masters. SALUD! Thanks for sharing.
Loved this recipe.
Butter would never be used in this recipe in Spain.
Well that’s too bad because butter is delicious.
Quite right, butter makes everything better. Thank goodness us foodies cook with our senses and not a false sense of obligation to one person who deems to speak for a whole nation’s traditions 😍
We have standards in cooking and it’s our passion that we go beyond what’s ordinary..
We infused not confused.
very garlicky very spicy much delicious
Yay! So glad you loved it!
Late to the party, but my wife and I just made this. We added some cherry tomatoes we had leftover. Soooo delicious! Will be making this again when we have guests for dinner.
So happy to hear that you loved it! Thanks Brian!
This turned out amazing! I substituted 1 Tablespoon ghee for the butter, and used oregano and thyme instead of parsley (since that’s what I had), and it was sooooo good! Very well balanced. Perfect amount of acidity and spice. Quick and easy for a weeknight meal. I look forward to making it again soon!
Yay! So happy to hear that! Thanks Gwen!
This recipe is absolutely delicious!! My kids and I loved it!! The sauce is to die for😍 We were dipping bread, veggies and even our steak into that magical sauce. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe which will be on regular rotation at our house!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that!
Delicious recipe! I didn’t have hot pepper flakes, so I used sliced jalapeños instead. Turned out great! Thank you! (P.s. for some reason I’m not able to use capital letters in the comment box)
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jessica! Thanks so much for letting me know!
OMG you had me at succulent shrimp!! This looks and sounds amazing dear! So glad I’m seeing this now that I’m back from vacation. Wish I could have a tapas party with you!
Me too Lauren! Thanks dear!
So I’m totally weird and won’t eat shrimp (it’s a texture thing!!) but my husband would loveeeee this dish! I should be a nice wife and make it for him sometime!! haha 🙂
Really??? I love shrimp – but I totally get the texture thing. There are certain foods I don’t eat for the same reason. These are super easy so you could for sure score some wife points with these without working too hard 🙂
I guess you and that lovely bottle of wine were destined to be together. . .sort of like soul mates. The Mr. recently returned from Spain and brought back a lovely bottle of wine for us to share. I don’t recall the vineyard. . .but wouldn’t it be a freaky if it was this very wine.
Anywhoo. . .this tapas is so lovely. . .and it’s simple to make (even better). My only issue is that my kitty is a little shrimp burglar of sorts and if I don’t keep a close eye on him I am sure these shrimp would go missing rickety split.
My kitties steal the shrimp tails if they get left out. The only evidence is that they are moved around if I leave the room and walk back in – ha! Little thieves. Thanks Lynn!
Oh man, these are so my kinda food! I love shrimp and garlic… love going for tapas aaaah!!
Yessss, we love the same things! Thanks Natasha!
Guuuurl, you are the tapas queen!! You need to open your own lil restaurant! Loving all your Spanish dishes and this one is no exception! Scrumptious, garlicky shrimp up in here! We don’t have a Kroger around, but lucky for me I can still get my Spanish cuisine on with all your recipes! 😉 Wiiiiiinning! Cheers, dear!
Aww, thanks girl! You are the sweetest!