Gambas al Ajillo - AKA Garlic Shrimp

There are many variations on recipes for gambas, a Spanish tapa. I would call the following the sparest I've encountered. There are only 4 ingredients in my recipe: shrimp, minced garlic, chili flakes and olive oil. Essential to eating gambas is a fresh baguette or similar loaf of chewy bread for dipping in the garlic-infused oil. I use a cast iron skillet for cooking and serving the gambas. This is a great dish for sharing.

Ingredients:

• I used 300 grams of wild-caught raw shrimp, but use as many as easily fit into your skillet, and they should be deveined and shelled
• about a 1/3 cup of good quality olive oil
• a large pinch of chili pepper flakes
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

Methods:
Use a large heavy-bottomed skillet to begin sauteing the garlic in the olive oil, being careful not to brown the garlic. When the garlic is mostly soft, add the shrimp and pepper flakes and saute for only a few minutes more until the shrimp have lost their translucence and turned pink. Cut up lots of bread and dig in while everything is piping hot. Sop up the garlic-infused oil with gusto.

Spicy Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli Rabe by Melissa Clark

This is another sheet pan dinner from the folks at the New York Times. I love these types of meals because they are so fantastically easy to make. Having said that, I'm not exactly sure that broccoli rabe is the best vegetable to team with shrimp.

Ingredients:

• ¾ pound broccoli rabe, tough bottom stems removed
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, optional
• ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes, or to taste
• ¾ pound large shrimp, peeled
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• Orange wedges, for serving
•  

• Methods:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the sesame oil if using, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon chile flakes. In a separate bowl, combine the shrimp, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the orange zest, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon chile flakes.

• Spread broccoli and shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once or twice halfway through, until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Serve with orange wedges.