Wild garlic prawns pil pil

Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

Sizzling Spanish baked prawns are given a seasonal spring twist with wild garlic and chilli in this take on a classic gambas pil pil recipe.

Traditional tapas: Gambas pil pil is a popular tapas dish of garlicky prawns. ‘Pil pil’ is a Basque name for the cooking sauce of olive oil, garlic and chilli.
Why it’s so good: Using wild garlic gives this Spanish classic a fresh spring makeover. Wild garlic has an aromatic taste that mellows as it cooks.
When to make it: Wild garlic appears as early as late February (depending on the weather) but reaches its peak in early April when it may be flowering.

Discover more enchanting wild garlic recipes.

Ingredients

Heat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C fan/gas 7. Put the oil, garlic and chilli flakes in an oven dish just large enough to fit the prawns in one layer (but don’t add them yet). Bake for 5 minutes until the oil is hot, sizzling and aromatic.
Stir in the prawns and return to the oven for 3 minutes, then stir in the wild garlic and cook for 1 minute until the prawns have cooked through and are pink. Serve with crusty bread for mopping up the juices.

Recipe from April 2025 Issue

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