Spanish Tapas: Garlic Shrimp with Olive Oil

I once fixed a multi-course wine pairing dinner for my family made up of quintessential Spanish food and wine. Tapas, those wonderful Spanish "small plates," with several kinds of sherry. Paella infused with saffron. Roasted lamb with garlic and smoked paprika. All accompanied by wonderful wines from Spanish wine regions like Rioja and Ribera del Duero. We topped it all off with a plate of delicious Spanish cheeses like Cabrales, Murcia del Vino and Garrotxa. And a glass of inky rich Priorat wine. I need to track down those recipes and wine names and post them sometime...

Meanwhile, here's the simplest...and perhaps most delicious...dish from that dinner. Gambas al ajillo. The sweetness of shrimp is underscored by the silky richness of olive oil, the bite of garlic and a kicky hint of red pepper. They're best served sizzling in individual ramekins (or cazuelas, the Spanish earthenware version) with crusty bread to sop up the juices.

(Of course, you could be heretical and serve over pasta accompanied by bread and a green salad for a full meal. Just don't tell your Spaniard friends!)

Garlic Shrimp with Olive Oil

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 whole dried red chiles (or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste)
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
2 pounds shelled and deveined medium shrimp
Sea Salt
Crusty bread, for serving

In a very large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the garlic, chiles and parsley and cook over moderately high heat for 10 seconds, stirring. Add the shrimp and cook over high heat, stirring once, until they are pink and curled, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and transfer to small bowls. Serve with crusty bread.

Food/Wine Pairing: This begs for the seaside brace of the driest Spanish sherry you can find. My favorite is Hidalgo's La Gitana Manzanilla. Served chilled, it's almost literally a whiff of the Spanish seashore. Briny with citrus and a little hint of green olive. (Another great pairing by the way.) My trouble is that it's difficult to find in Dallas. I end up having to mail order it. Dallas wine distributors, do you hear my plight?