Gambas Pil Pil Caesar Salad

Everyone I know goes absolutely crazy for this recipe. It’s your classic Caesar salad but jazzed up: garlic, chilli, prawn. If you're looking to impress, I recommend this one. 

It’s the perfect meal. I honestly can’t rate it highly enough. 

The inspiration behind it is those delicious prawns you get at tapas restaurants and bars: Gambas Pil Pil. Prawns cooked in hot olive oil with paprika, garlic and chilli- heaven on earth. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. 

Ingredients

For the Gambas Pil Pil

• 300g king prawns

• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely sliced

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• ½ tsp chilli flakes (or more if you’re feeling brave)

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

For the Caesar Dressing

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 clove garlic, finely grated

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• Juice of half a lemon

• 50ml olive oil

• 25g parmesan cheese, finely grated

• Black pepper

• Sea salt, to taste

For the Salad

• 2 large Romaine lettuce heads 

• 150g cherry tomatoes, halved

• A handful of mixed olives

• 40g parmesan cheese, shaved or roughly grated

Instructions

1. First off, you’re going to want to make your Caesar dressing. Now, I’m not judging if you want to use a shop-bought Caesar dressing; life is busy, go ahead. But if you’re making it from scratch, grab a bowl and add your egg yolk, garlic, Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Give it a good whisk, then slowly drizzle in your olive oil whilst whisking continuously. As everything comes together, you’ll notice the dressing becomes thicker and creamier. Once you’re happy with the consistency, stir through your finely grated parmesan, black pepper and a little sea salt. Give it a taste and adjust however you like. More lemon for sharpness, more parmesan for richness, it’s entirely up to you.

2. Next, let's build the salad. Take your lettuce, rough chop, wash, dry and throw it into a large bowl along with your cherry tomatoes and mixed olives. Pour over your dressing and toss everything together until nicely coated. Add most of your Parmesan and give it one final mix, saving a little for the top later.

3. Now it's time for the star of the show: the Gambas Pil Pil. Grab a frying pan and place it over a medium to high heat. Add your olive oil, followed by your sliced garlic. Keep things moving and make sure not to burn it. Once the garlic begins to soften and smell incredible, add your paprika and chilli flakes.

4. Throw in your king prawns and season with sea salt and black pepper. Toss everything together so the prawns get coated in all of that garlicky, paprika-infused oil. Cook for a few minutes until the prawns turn a beautiful pink colour. Remember, grey means they're not cooked, pink means they're cooked.

5. Once the prawns are done, remove the pan from the heat. Don't waste any of that glorious oil; you'll want every last drop.

   
   

6. Grab your dressed salad and plate it up however you fancy. Pile the Gambas Pil prawns on top, making sure to spoon over some of the garlic, chilli and oil from the pan. Finish with the remaining Parmesan.

   
   

7. At this point, if you're anything like me, you'll immediately want to eat it standing in the kitchen. Try to resist. Get it to the table, admire your handiwork and dig in.

   
   

8. Enjoy!