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VELETA Gambas al Ajillo

Ingredients

• ¼ - ½ cup VELETA Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 1lb peeled shrimp
• 2 - 4 cloves garlic sliced
• 1 lemon
• ¼ - ½ cup Sherry wine (dry) or dry white wine
• ½ tsp Spanish Paprika (picante if available)
• 1 - 2 dry red cayenne pepper broken in several pieces
• coarse salt to taste (usually about 1 tsp or so)(preferably sea salt)
• several strands of Spanish saffron
• 1 - 2 pinches of sugar
• Fresh parsley

Preparation
Peal shrimp and toss with a small amount of salt or you can also soak the pealed shrimp in a mildly salted cold water. (The shrimp from the Mediterranean Sea has actually a sweeter and brinier flavor that the shrimp available in the States).

In a small bowl mix the dry spices together (pepper, paprika, salt, saffron, sugar). Pour the sherry wine over the top of the spices and stir. Let this sit while cooking shrimp. Chop parsley and set aside.

Heat oil in med. - large sauté pan, hot, add the garlic (true Spanish cooks know that a secret to delicious cooking is to always heat the oil then add garlic. This gives the oil the garlic flavor before mixed with other flavors). Drain the shrimp. Add to the oil, sauté quickly (no more than a couple of minutes) stir to cook thoroughly. Add the wine and spice mixture. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the top of the simmering shrimp. Sprinkle the parsley over the top remove from the heat and serve with fresh crusty bread. One of the best parts of this recipe is to dip bread in the wine and olive oil mixture, “Mojar” (to dip into)