Spanish Shrimp

How we make it.

1 cup Spanish extra virgin olive oil
1 whole head of garlic cloves, grated
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
Kosher salt, to taste
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lemon, juiced and zested 
1/4 cup sherry
Fresh parsley, chopped

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt and paprika. To a large braiser over low heat add olive oil, garlic and chili flakes. Let the garlic and chilis bathe in the olive oil, never sizzling, for 2 minutes. If the garlic turns brown, you're over doing it, Harry. Add shrimp to the pan and cook gently over the same low to medium low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring and flipping until opaque and just done. Take the pan off the heat and add sherry, lemon juice, zest and parsley, stirring to combine. Serve warm with crusty bread straight from the pan, sopping up all the garlicky shrimp oil with your bread.

Why we make it.

My best friend is the Shrimp Queen. I can't look at a shrimp without thinking of her. She loves it roasted, grilled, ceviche-d, cocktail-ed. You name it. Last week was her birthday so I made her dinner because dinner is the way to her heart that I know best. Carson comes from a proud line of beautiful Italian eaters and cooks. Enjoying cooking and eating together has always bound our souls. She was the one who told me to start this blog when I was in the dumps and needed an outlet. She's my greatest supporter and my dearest confidante. Spanish Shrimp is the least I could do for this gal when she turned 37. She has crept into her husband's lunch, prepared for his next workday, and sucked the tender flesh off each shrimp, leaving only the tails, and telling no one. She has steered her cart through Whole Foods, long after dark and 8 months pregnant, eating shrimp straight from the buffet box she hasn't yet paid for and called it heaven. Such is her devotion to crustacean. For her birthday she ate shrimp at my counter, straight from the pan, surrounded by people who love her, and I hope she thought that was heaven, too. That's why I made it.