For the nights where you need a dish that’s full of spice and flavor that won’t weigh you down, one that’s perfect for these warm spring evenings, try my version of the popular tapas dish, Spanish garlic shrimp!
I’ve often said that food or a good recipe are the best souvenirs you can ever take home from a trip, because food can transport you in a heartbeat.
This dish takes me immediately to Barcelona. We went there with my sister and her bestie the summer after we got married. Karen, Sabrina and I were presenting together at a conference there, and Scott was along for the company and the experience. He and I arrived a day early and immediately started exploring.
We found ourselves eventually at a little restaurant on the waterfront where the most incredible scent was coming from the kitchen. We looked through the various dishes and tried to coax ideas out of our waiter, but eventually, we realized that the delicious smell was a very simple tapas dish – gambas al ajillo. Garlic shrimp.
Our waiter brought them out much like I have them pictured, in a large still hot skillet, sizzling in their butter and olive oil and garlic coating. We fished them out and ate while watching the sea glitter and feeling the breeze blunt the almost oppressive heat, and reveled in the ability to just sit there and soak it all in. That was the beginning of our discovery that you could slow down while you traveled, that everything didn’t have to be a mad rush, that you could just be.
Warm spring days are rolling in and we’re being pressured to take that to extremes. Slow down. Soak it in. Just be.
I had a craving for these shrimp, so I whipped some up recently along with a loaf of crusty garlic bread and a chopped salad with my homemade Italian dressing, and it made for the perfect dinner for a warm breezy evening. We opened up the windows and let the breeze in, set our son in my lap, and pulled our chairs around the wine barrel we bought from our favorite winery and still haven’t quite figured out what to do with and enjoyed a tapas dinner.
It might not be Barcelona. We might not be able to get back there anytime soon. But this dish definitely stirred up some wonderful memories. And it was absolutely delicious!
[lt_recipe name=”Spanish Garlic Shrimp” summary=”For the nights where you need a dish that’s full of spice and flavor that won’t weigh you down, one that’s perfect for these warm spring evenings, try my version of the popular tapas dish, Spanish garlic shrimp!” servings=”2-4″ total_time=”10″ print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Creamy-Italian-Dressing-0653-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined;1/4 cup olive oil;1/4 cup butter;3 tbsp fresh lemon juice;6 garlic cloves, minced;1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika;1/2 tsp red pepper flakes;salt + pepper to taste;chopped parsley for garnish” ]Add the butter, olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes to a saute pan. Heat over medium heat for about 1 minute, or until garlic becomes fragrant and fully coated with butter and oil.;Add the paprika, lemon juice, and shrimp, and cook 2-3 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.;Season with salt and pepper and pour into serving dishes {or serve up in the skillet on a trivet}.;Top with parsley and serve with crusty bread![/lt_recipe]
Hope you allow your imaginations and your taste buds to take you somewhere wonderful through your cooking, even if it might be a while before we’re all actually able to go anywhere!
Happy Friday and happy weekend!
