Felicity Cloake's Gambas Al Ajillo. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food styling: Loïc Parisot. View image in fullscreen Felicity Cloake's Gambas Al Ajillo. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food styling: Loïc Parisot. Felicity Cloake's masterclass Seafood How to make gambas al ajillo – recipe Conjuring memories of sun-drenched holidays and cool tapas bars, this dish is deliciously messy
Felicity Cloake Sun 2 Aug 2026 14.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google A s a devotee of the small, sweet and winningly cheap cold-water prawn, I don’t often find myself at the court of the king variety, but as a way to conjure happy memories of holidays past, sunny terraces and cool tapas bars, this particular dish is hard to beat. Served sizzling hot and drenched in red, garlicky oil, it’s deliciously messy stuff, and best paired with bread and an icy drink.
Prep 5 min Cook 15 min Serves 4 as a tapa , 2 as a starter
8 sustainably sourced raw shell-on king prawns Salt and black pepper 4 garlic cloves 120ml olive oil A few flat-leaf parsley stems 4 small dried chillies , or 1 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika, or ½ tsp chilli flakes 2 tsp sherry vinegar , or wine vinegar or lemon juice Bread slices , to serve
For the best-flavoured results, you need the prawn shells, but don’t worry if you or your guests prefer not to faff about peeling them at the table, because you use the shells separately here. Raw shell-on prawns are easiest sourced frozen – supermarkets, especially east Asian ones, have them, or find them, often with greater traceability, online.
View image in fullscreen 2 … but if you can’t get them That said, if you can only find cooked shell-on prawns, use those instead – you’ll just need to warm them through in step 8 instead. And if you can get your hands only on peeled prawns, you can also use them, but consider adding a teaspoon of Malaysian shrimp paste in step 7 or a dash of fish sauce in step 8, should you have either to hand.
Peel the shell-on prawns by twisting off their heads, then, laying one prawn flat on your other hand, use a fingernail to get under the shell and peel down the back, then twist off the tail. Put all the shells in a bowl. Run a small, sharp knife down the back of each prawn and, if it’s obvious and visible, hook out and discard the dark line of digestive tract (if you can’t see it, it’s probably clear, so don’t worry about this).
View image in fullscreen 4 Salt the prawns Sprinkle the prawn meat lightly with salt and set aside (you can prep this dish ahead of time up to the end of step 6; if doing so, store the salted prawns in the fridge for up to two days). Squeeze the contents of the prawn heads into a small bowl, then put the spent heads in the bowl with the rest of the shells.
Peel all the garlic, and squash two of the cloves with the flat side of a knife; leave the other two cloves intact for now. Put the oil in a frying pan on a medium-low heat (this makes a fair bit of oil for dipping, so cut down the quantity a little, if you prefer), then add the squashed garlic (keep back the remaining whole cloves for now), the prawn shells and the squeezed-out heads.
View image in fullscreen 6 Fry the garlic and shells Fry, stirring frequently, for five to seven minutes, until the prawn shells turn a deep pink; make sure the garlic doesn’t catch and burn. Meanwhile, finely slice the remaining garlic and roughly chop the parsley (this is the traditional herb of choice here, though if…