Gambas a La Plancha - Ajo y Perejil salsa
Nothing beats a summer holiday in Spain, lazy days by the beach and long lunches with platters of prawns cooked on the ‘plancha’, ideally on a terrace overlooking the ocean with the scent of salt in the air and an ice-cold Estrella Galicia beer in your hand. Bring Spain to your backyard with this simple recipe if you can’t get to Spain this summer.
We used to have a saying put prawns on the menu, and they will walk out the door. Everyone loves prawns, and they are guaranteed to sell on any menu. But for some, cooking prawns can seem challenging, yet they are one of the easiest things to cook, either on a barbecue or the hob.
Most of the prawns available to purchase in the UK are frozen out on the boat when they are caught, so the best way to defrost prawns is to pull them out of the freezer the night before you are planning on cooking them and leave them covered in the fridge to defrost slowly. Failing this, running them under cold water in the sink will defrost them more rapidly. If you purchase defrosted prawns, it’s best not to re-freeze them.
To cook, I use long bamboo skewers inserted into the prawn's tail and pushed through to the head. This will keep the prawn stretched out and stop them curling up when cooked, allowing the tiny legs to get charred and crispy, making them into deliciously crunchy little prawn crisps.
In Spain, the whole prawn is eaten, including the head. Tear off the head and suck the delicious juices out before eating the rest of the tail. It seems strange, but 45 million Spaniards can’t be wrong!
'Ajo y perejil’ - (Garlic & Parsley Dressing)
This is about as easy a dressing as you’ll ever make. Simple, bright and fresh flavours go perfectly with grilled prawns and seafood, and it works just as well with grilled meat.
Ingredients;
3 handfuls of flat leaf parsley, just the leaves
5 cloves of garlic
150ml of extra virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients into a small food processor or stick blender and blitz, leaving it a little coarse. Transfer to a bowl until it’s time to cook.
For the prawns;
16 - 24 large prawns, head attached (allow 4-6 prawns per person; they’ll all get eaten!)
Sea salt flakes
1 lemon, halved
2 tbsp. olive oil, for cooking
Lemon wedges, to serve
Cooking
heat the grill on the barbecue until scorching hot. Salt the prawns and grill over high heat, drizzling with a little of the salsa. after a few minutes of cooking on each side, give them a good squeeze of lemon and remove them from the heat. Place onto a serving platter and serve with the salsa.