Gambas al Ajillo Set Menu: Tapas, Pasta, Salad

Gambas al Ajillo. It’s Spanish tapas. Lately, this specific Gambas tapas has been trending among home-cooks in Korea. Its a very simple dish – mainly olive oil, garlic and shrimp. However, it is a nice and simple meal to cook for a friend.

Last month, Katie and I visited a former colleague and he had planned this set course menu for us. The newlywed cooked in front of us – enjoying sips of wine and keeping a watchful eye on their adventurous toddler. The baby had an uncanny ability to steal beer bottles. One second it was on the table. Next thing, he was hiding the bottles in his play-pen!

Overall, I was impressed by the set menu as it was simple, fast-t0-cook and no one had to spend hours in the kitchen. I wanted to share this recipe as well – so you can pamper a close friend during your next catch-up.

Gambas al Ajillo Course Menu

Gambas al Ajillo is a delicious dish that you could build a course menu around. Shrimp appetizer, oil pasta and mushroom salad - perfect. All we are missing is a bottle of wine.

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Course: Easy

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

Gambas al ajillo (Shrimp Prep)

• Shrimp - 20
• Salt - 2 pinches
• Black pepper - 2 pinches
• Baking soda - 2 pinches

Gambas al ajillo (Cooking)

• Olive oil - 1 cup
• Garlic - 10 cloves
• Dried chili pepper - ⅓ whole
• Salt - few shakes
• Black pepper - few shakes
• Minced parsley - few shakes

King Oyster Mushroom Salad

• King oyster mushroom - 2
• Salt - few shakes
• Black pepper - few shakes
• Lettuce - handful
• Baby greens - hanful

Soy Sauce Vinaigrette Sauce

• Olive oil - 2 tablespoon
• Balsamic vinegar - 2 tablespoon
• Sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Soy sauce - 1 teaspoon
• Bell pepper - ¼ whole
• Onion - ¼ whole

Aglio E Olio Pasta

• Pasta - 2 person serving
• Leftover oil - 2 wooden-ladle scoops
• Pasta water - 2 wooden-ladle scoops
• Salt - few shakes
• Black pepper - few shakes

Instructions

Gambas Al Ajillo

• Peel and devein shrimp. Keep tails on. Also save 5 shrimp heads (set these aside in a separate dish, no need to season them). Then season the deveined shrimp bodies with salt and black pepper. Add a few pinches of baking soda as well. Set shrimp aside. Cut each clove of garlic into 2-3 thin slices. Then cut dried pepper into thin strips with kitchen scissors. Set both aside.
• Take out a small frying pan. Add the olive oil into the pan. Then throw in the garlic and chili pepper pieces. Put the frying pan on a medium-low heat. Once you see the garlic pieces start to sizzle in the oil, immediately add the shrimp pieces. Place in the 5 shrimp heads as well. Once the shrimp turns pink on one side, flip them over. Once both sides turn pink, turn off the heat. Then season the oil with salt and black pepper (don't forget this step - you need to salt!). If you have fresh parsley, garnish with this. Serve with some fresh slices of bread. Enjoy!

King Oyster Mushroom

• Cut king mushrooms into long strips. Then cube them into bite-sized pieces. Place frying pan on medium-high heat. Put some olive oil in. Once it is hot, place mushrooms pieces in. Don't touch it - let it sit in the frying pan to develop a slight char on one side. Then season with salt and black pepper. After it has browned on one side, give them a stir (or flip) and let it cook on the other side. Turn off the heat and set-aside.
• Take out a mixing bowl. Put olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar and soy sauce in. Mix thoroughly. Then take out a chopping board and dice-up the bell pepper and onion. Place the diced veggies into the salad dressing and give a final stir. Place lettuce and baby greens into a salad bowl. Place grilled mushrooms over the top. Then pour the vinaigrette dressing over the salad when you are ready to eat.

Aglio E Olio Pasta

• Boil 2 servings of pasta. Drain the pasta - but save some of the pasta water in a small bowl. Then take out a large frying pan. Put two wooden ladles of the leftover oil from the Gambas into the frying pan. (The amount of oil doesn't have to be exact - just estimate). Then put the frying pan on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, place pasta into the frying pan. Then put in two wooden ladles worth of pasta water. Give a quick stir. Make sure to season with salt and black pepper! Enjoy!

Notes

• Use extra olive oil when cooking the tapas – you can use the leftover oil to make Aglio e Olio pasta.
• Also, put the shrimp into the olive oil as soon as you see the garlic pieces start to sizzle in the oil. This way, it doesn’t burn.
• Watch video below for more details

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