Sherry prawns recipe

I’m not a fan of sherry as a drink but I love it in cooking. This sherry prawns recipe is so simple – just be really careful of the hot oil.

Having a cazuela to cook this in isn’t vital – a heavy based pan will do. But there’s something very homely and soothing about earthenware plus it holds the heat better. I swear by mine!

Ingredients (serves 2 to 3)

• About half a kilo of prawns – raw if possible
• 50 millilitres of your favourite sherry
• 3 or 4 plump garlic cloves
• Half a teaspoon of crushed chillies
• Half a teaspoon of crushed paprika
• Plenty of olive oil for frying
• Half a fistful of chopped parsley (optional)

Method

• Peel and de-vein your prawns
• Slice the garlic cloves as wafer thin as you can get them
• In a cazuela or decent sized heavy-based frying pan, add the olive oil, chillies and paprika
• Once the garlic starts to turn golden, lob in all the prawns
• Let everything sizzle until the prawns are cooked to your liking
• Pour the sherry over the top
• Serve immediately with plenty of bread. Do keep the prawns in the same pot you cooked them in – your guests can help themselves and it means less washing up too!
• Oh yeah – and sprinkle the parsley on top if you must.

Spain Buddy tips

• Regarding the olive oil, it’s up to you how much you use. Many people just use a hearty glug or two… just to avoid anything sticking. Personally, I have an absolute minimum of half an inch in the cazuela. For me, one of the best things about any dish of this type is dipping bread in it and scooping up errant garlic and chilies when the prawns are all gone. Neither ampunt of oil makes much difference to the prawns.
• Don’t like Sherry? Even in cooking? Fret not. Experiment with some other liqueur-type drinks such as Tequila or Ouzo. Vermouth also works well. I haven’t tried it with brandy yet… but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. Give it a try and report back!

Elle Draper

Elle, along with Alan, is the owner of Spain Buddy and the busy web design business – Spain Web Design by Gandy-Draper.
Born a “Norverner”, she then spent most of her life “Dann Saff” before moving to Spain in 2006. Elle’s loves are Alan, the internet, dogs, good food, and dry white wine – although not necessarily in that order.