It is very likely that, while visiting the Costa del Sol, on some occasion you have been surprised to see that the pilpil prawns that everyone asked for at the bar on duty, in reality they had nothing to do with that wonderful gelatinous sauce that usually accompanies cod in Basque lands. But beware, do not stop asking for them for this reason because it is another of the great Andalusian culinary inventions that create addiction despite its low technical complexity and being within reach of all pockets.
The only thing you won’t have to skimp on is the amount of oil to use, since it must be abundant, but everything related to the shrimp pilpil recipe we’ll see later. For now, we are going to make it clear what the elaboration of Basque origin consists of, which is always used for cod (unless your name is Eneko Atxa and you dare with some Kokotxas al pilpil), and the Andalusian one, which is not used for another task than giving the prawns a special touch as well as being spicy.
The Basque pilpil and its curious history
To appreciate the differences between both “pilpiles”, it would suffice to look a little at the color and texture of the two elaborations, since they have little or nothing to do, beyond the fact that in both, as in so many other recipes, garlic, chilli pepper and extra virgin olive oil are used.
In the case of pilpil cod, we are talking about a traditional recipe (dating back to the 19th century) in which the leading role is shared. On the one hand, we will need a slice of desalted codand on the other, that gelatin that we will obtain by conscientiously linking an oil emulsion with the fish gelatin, something that is recommended to do, once the first bubbles have appeared, with precise wrist movements and using a strainer.
His story is also not wasted. And it turns out that its origin, which dates back to 1836, is due to the fact that one fine day the Bilbao merchant Simón Gurtubay placed an order for 20 or 22 cod. Well, rather, he believed he had done it, since, according to legend, when the order was served, there were no more and no less than 2,022 copies. This was indeed a bilbainada, albeit by mistake, in every rule.
Well, don’t go thinking that this mess was the slightest problem for the protagonist of this story, since at that time the city of Bilbao suffered from a notable famine after the siege of the city during the Carlist Wars. This made it relatively “easy” to find an outlet for all this fish, there was only one but: how to cook it so that it would go down in the eyes of the people of Bilbao with the few ingredients that were on the market. and this is where oil, garlic and chillies come into play. The result? This wonder that you can see below and that is still very current almost two centuries later.
The Andalusian pilpil, not just a dish for foreigners
We are going to the other end of the country to pay homage to the other pilpil, to whom locals refer to as “pílpil” and that has achieved that whoever is passing through any town on the coast succumbs to its charms and wants to repeat the ritual year after year. Own Jose Carlos Capellone of our most prominent gastronomic critics, has given a good account of this this summer after visiting the Marbella Golf Clubhouse.
In this case, what we have is a most hedonistic dish that is usually shared (although it is difficult for some to take the step), which is usually served in the same clay pot in which you cook and that invites you to compulsively dip bread. Another curiosity is that often prawns are used instead of shrimp. Then there are those who prefer to experiment by adding white wine, prepared tomato or paprika, but we leave that to the choice of each one.
What the canons mandate is that Let’s start by cutting the garlic into thin slices. and put them in the clay pot after having lightly covered the oil base with the chilli pepper. In a couple of minutes, on low heat, they should be ready (you’ll know because they’re golden brown). Next, add the prawns and stir everything until they have taken temperature and color. At that time we add more oil and a little salt to continue cooking them over medium-low heat. When the prawns have changed color and the sauce is thick, we will know that they are ready to be eaten.
From here you can add a little parsley just before serving, or have replaced the chilli for hot paprikabut you should know that in this case the result is not the same.
Traditionally small prawns used to be used and low quality, even frozen ones, but fortunately things have changed a lot in recent years. You just have to pay a visit to Los Marinos José in Fuengirola to see for yourself. There they use the same prawns that they serve grilled because they are bigger and the result is outstanding. In this house, in addition, they are in favor of leaving the head (in this way they get it to be impregnated with the sauce).
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