Cook It! Gambas a la Plancha

Friday, January 28, 2011 Jonette 0 Comments

Here's another recipe that's easy, great for entertaining guests, and can be prepared even a day in advance. Originating from Spain, this delightful Tapas works just as well eaten with a side of rice as a meal. One bite will pretty much help you determine whether or not you'll still be up for seconds -- but you'll probably have them, anyway.

The secret is gin. And a lot of patience.

You will need:

a kilo of two- to three-inch shrimp
two to two-and-a-half cups of gin
a teaspoon of salt
two tablespoons of garlic, minced
three tablespoons of olive oil.

Let's get to it!

Wash your shrimps. Prepare your chopping board and a sharp knife. Slice off the sharp horn and whiskers on each shrimp...

... but not without admiring the more handsome specimens in the batch.

Arrange all the shrimp in a neat-ish, level pile.

Brother Aloysius never had a chance.

Pour the gin and salt on the shrimp. Cover, refridgerate, and let the shrimp marinade in the mixture from anywhere to two to ten hours. (Go for the ten. Seriously.)

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and toss in your minced garlic. Once toasted, take the garlic out and set aside. Let the oil heat up on its own.

Take your shrimps out, and drain. Don't worry if some of them develop an orangey color on their sides. That's just the gin's chemistry working its magic on the shrimp.

Yep, I'd say they're properly soused.

Once the oil starts smoking (yes, it needs to smoke), toss in the shrimp, and cook quickly. Once they're a nice, deep orange color, remove them from the heat.