Pil Pil Recipes

BASQUE COD AL PIL PIL

Steps:

• Salt the fish well and set aside for 10 to 20 minutes. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, wide pan that can hold all the pieces of fish.
• Saute the garlic slices for a minute or two, until they just start turning golden. Remove them as best you can. It's OK if a few escape you.
• Put the fish skin side down in the pan and cook gently over medium-low heat for a minute or two. Turn the fish and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes, or until the fish is mostly cooked. Turn the heat off and remove the fish for now.
• Start swirling the pan. You want to gently agitate the olive oil and juices from the fish into an emulsion. This should take about 5 minutes and no more than 10 minutes. One way to help this along is to whisk it with a strainer, as you can see in the video. As the emulsion comes together, add back the garlic as well as the crushed chiles, if using. It will eventually look like a salad dressing, and if you keep stirring it while the whole thing cools, it will set up into a mayonnaise-like sauce. It's up to you if you want it this way.
• When you are ready, pour the sauce over the fish, sprinkle some dried herbs on there and serve.

GAMBAS PIL PIL

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan or ideally in four individual earthenware casserole dishes.
• When the oil is hot, add the garlic and fry until lightly brown. Drain the garlic and set aside.
• In the same oil, add the prawns and cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chilli flakes, fried garlic, sweet paprika and chopped parsley and stir well.
• Season with salt and serve straightaway, the prawns need to be sizzling hot!

PIL-PIL

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a sauté pan until almost smoking, and add the chile and garlic.
• When the garlic is almost golden (about 30 seconds), turn the heat to high and add the scallops.
• When the scallops are done (1-2 minutes) and before the garlic turns brown, remove from heat and divide the entire contents among preheated pailas.
• Serve immediately with crusty bread and good chilled white wine.

GAMBAS PIL PIL (PRAWNS, CHILEAN STYLE)

Steps:

• Place the garlic cloves and grapeseed oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Let the garlic slowly turn golden brown as the oil becomes hot; continue cooking until the garlic has turned golden-brown, and the oil is quite hot.
• Add the shrimp, stir to coat with oil, and cook for 15 seconds before stirring in the chile pepper. Continue to cook until shrimp is pink and firm. Pour in pisco, and cook for 30 seconds to let the alcohol evaporate. Season with salt to taste, then pour the mixture into a serving dish. Serve sprinkled with cayenne pepper, and garnished with lime wedges.