I love shrimp! It cooks quick and works well with my favourite ingredients – lemon, garlic and chilli!
This recipe tastes a lot like the Spanish tapas Gambas al Ajillo – shrimp sautéed in olive oil, lots of garlic and some chilli for a little bite. It is usually eaten with crusty bread to soak up all that delicious infused olive oil.
My version is a slight variation of this. The addition of lemon juice lightens the flavour of the dish as it cuts through the rich olive oil and sweet shrimp.
Start by sautéing the garlic chilli and chili flakes in garlic olive oil. If you don’t have garlic oil use your favourite olive oil. Cook till the garlic softens. Be sure not to let it brown up as you want it to be soft and sweet.
Next add the shrimp and salt and cook on each side for 1-2 minutes. Turn of the heat just before they are fully cooked (they will continue to cook through the heat from the pan) as it’s very easy to over cook shrimp and nobody likes springy shrimp! When ready, the shrimp should be pink and opaque. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve alongside bread, rice or anything to soak up all the juicy goodness!
Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp garlic olive oil
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1-2 red chilli padi chopped
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 10 large shrimp deshelled, deveined & seasoned with pepper
- Juice from 1/4 lemon
- Salt to taste
Directions:
- In a sauté pan on medium heat, add the garlic oil, chilli flakes, chilli padi and garlic. Sauté till garlic softens.
- Next add the shrimp and salt. Cook each side for 1-2 mins till pink and cooked through.
- Remove from heat and squeeze the lemon juice over.
- Serve warm with bread, rice or lemon herb couscous.
* I like my food really spicy so I used 2 chilli padi including the seeds. If you prefer less spicy, go for 1 seeded chilli padi.
Food Therapy 