Sizzling Shrimp with Garlic and Hot Pepper
Serves 4 to 6
For many years, Paula Wolfert served another version of this dish, using giant prawns in their shells. Back in the late 1950s, she prepared them along with several other Spanish dishes for a party held in a Fifth Avenue apartment belonging to a pair of wealthy twins.
Among the illustrious guests that night were the poet Allen Ginsberg and the beat generation novelist Jack Kerouac. Everyone liked the food, especially the garlicky prawn dish.
In fact, Kerouac was so impressed that he eyed Wolfert carefully and then announced, "You've got great legs." Wolfert was such an obsessive foodie at the time, that she wasn't sure if he was describing my legs or the long thin ones on the prawns!
Cook all the shrimp in one large cazuela. It's all about dunking, so be sure to pass plenty of good crusty bread to wipe up the garlicky sauce.
Preferred Clay Pot:
- An 11-or 12-inch Spanish cazuela or straight-sided flameware skillet
- If using an electric or ceramic stovetop, be sure to use a heat diffuser with the clay pot.
- 1 pound peeled small (about 60) or medium-large, deveined (24 to 30) shrimp
- 1 scant cup extra virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon mildly hot dried red pepper such as Aleppo or Marash
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon sweet pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika)
- 4 to 6 slices chewy country bread
- Rinse the shrimp and wipe dry with paper towels. Leave them at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes so they are not ice cold when they hit the pan.
- Combine the olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper in the cazuela. Set it over medium-low heat and warm the pan slowly, gradually raising the heat to medium or medium-high until the oil is hot. Continue to cook until the garlic sizzles and just turns golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Immediately add all the shrimp and cook until they are firm and curled, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on their size.
- Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons hot water and pinches of sea salt and pimentón. Serve at once right from the pot with the bread for soaking up the delicious oily sauce.
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About Paula Wolfert:
About Paula Wolfert is widely acknowledged as one of the premier food writers in America and the "queen of Mediterranean cooking."
She writes a quarterly column in Food & Wine, and is the author of seven cookbooks, several of which have remained in print for upwards of 30 years. Her two most recent cookbooks, The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen and the Cooking of Southwest France, 2nd edition, received stunning reviews.
Wolfert's writings have received numerous awards, including the Julia Child Award, the M.F.K. Fisher Award, the James Beard Award, the Cook's Magazine Platinum Plate Award, and the Perigueux Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, Saveur, Fine Cooking, and Cook's Illustrated.
In 2008, her book on Moroccan cuisine was inducted into the Cookbook Hall of Fame by the James Beard Association.
For more information about Paula Wolfert, visit www.paula-wolfert.com
