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A Favourite Dish in Spain
by Matt Falcus
I have been visiting this part of the world all my
life. My parents bought a holiday home here in the small attractive
resort of Nerja, on Spain's Costa del Sol, when I was seven. So
getting to know the local cuisine obviously became a regular feature
for me for a month or two every year.
My parents love to eat out when they're in Nerja.
The town has many bars and restaurants that really aren't the tacky
burger joints typically associated with resort towns. There is good
eating here, something that has always been true of the area. Andalucia
is known for its fine culinary delights and Mediterranean life style.
Sea food, olive oil, tomatoes, red wine, citrus fruit… They're
all here and sworn by in each household.
My first exposure to Gambas al Pil Pil was when I
was still quite young. My father had ordered it as the appetiser
to his meal one night. But as a youngster I was prone to being picky
and suspicious of anything that didn't look plain or resemble fish
and chips. I tried the dish, and I hated it. End of story.
It was not until a few years later when I had matured
slightly that I tried the dish again. At a favourite restaurant
of ours, owned by a local entrepreneur and good friend of the family,
my Mother had this time chosen the dish, known in the English dialect
as Prawns Pil Pil. It came to the table in a small brown porcelain
dish. The red sauce was spitting out onto the table as it sat cooling
from the heat of the oven. I picked up a piece of crusty bread and
dunked it into the sauce. Blowing hard to cool it off, I tasted
and fell in love. Moments later I dared to try a prawn, making sure
it was smothered in as much sauce as possible before devouring it.
Sublime.
Eating Prawns Pil Pil is now as much a part of my
holiday as sitting in the sun is for me whenever I visit Andalucia.
I have even located a Spanish restaurant in the UK which serves
the dish. It is essentially a traditional meal that has many different
recipes, depending on which family the chef comes from - a very
Mediterranean way of doing things, much like pizza and pasta recipes
in Italy. The sauce is generally made up of olive oil, garlic and
chillies, and then added to large prawns. The slightly extended
version involves a red tomato sauce, with much the same ingredients.
It is always served very hot, and can often be very spicy if you're
not careful! The common way to eat it is to use crusty bread to
soak up the sauce, and eat the prawns once they've cooled down.
Many people have visited Nerja with us over the years,
and I can honestly say they have all loved this dish. No matter
which restaurant you order it from, it will be worth every mouthful.
I urge you to try it next time you are in the area.
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