During a recent holiday on the Costa Brava in Spain, we had lunch one day at a rustic restaurant in a fishing village. The menu was all seafood, caught that morning from the ocean we were looking out at.
16-20 medium-large king prawns, shelled, with heads and tails left on
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
a pinch of saffron threads
2 very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ cup good manzanilla sherry (e.g. La Goya or Hidalgo)
extra virgin olive oil
handful of fresh coriander
handful of flat leaf parsley
De-vein the prawns by making a small incision along the back of the prawn, then remove the dark vein.In a heavy-based pan on high heat, pour in the olive oil and when the pan is hot, add the prawns. They should sizzle and fry and be quite noisy. When they are golden brown, turn them over and add the garlic and saffron threads, cooking until the prawns are golden on the other side as well and aromatic. Add the tomatoes and a good splash of sherry and cover with a lid for a minute. Check the prawns are cooked, remove and set them aside while you reduce the sauce a little.Pour the sauce over the prawns and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the coriander and parsley sprinkled over.
To serve
Eat with some crusty white bread to mop up the juices, and don't forget to nibble on the tail.
This dish is good with a glass of crisp rose´.
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