Prawns in a Spicy Sauce

A simple dish that makes a good start to an informal meal, preferably in the open air, served with good Castilian bread to dip in the sauce. The rivers in the province of Burgos used to have a plentiful supply of prawns, which children caught by attracting them with a red rag. A few years ago supplies diminished and were replaced with large, more insipid, imported prawns. Today the native prawns are back. They are small but full of taste.

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

2 lb 4 oz prawns

1 sized onion

2 cloves garlic

4 ripe tomatoes

1 tbsp bread crumbs

4 fl oz olive oil

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 glass of brandy

4 fl oz white wine

4 fl oz fish stock

Salt, pepper, parsley

Preparation:

Wash the prawns and gut them by breaking the middle fin of the tail and pulling. Heat the oil in an earthenware dish big enough to hold the prawns and the sauce. Sauté the prawns with the dish covered until they turn red. Remove and fry the chopped onion and garlic until golden then add the blanched, peeled and chopped tomatoes. Lower the heat and fry for 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of sugar, if the the tomato is too acidic, and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Mix and add the cayenne pepper, prawns and brandy. When hot, flambé then add the wine and stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve from the dish sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Selected by María Jesús Gil de Antuñano
Recipe courtesy of Spain GourmeTour magazine.