Recipes with king prawns: simple and delicious 

Griddled king prawns

Griddled king prawns are a relatively easy dish to make and are a fantastic starter or dish for special occasions. The most important thing is for the king prawns to be tender and juicy, so you need to take great care with the cooking time. You should also bear in mind that, if they are frozen, you need to take them out of the freezer a while before cooking them so they aren’t as cold and the contrast with the griddle isn’t so stark. 15 minutes will be enough.

To make our griddled king prawns, we need the following ingredients:

• 450 g king prawns
• 15 g of olive oil
• sea salt
• lemon (optional)

In terms of the method, let's see what we need to do next:

1. Place a non-stick frying pan or griddle on a high heat with nearly all of the olive oil (approx. 10g) and sprinkle a little sea salt on the surface.
2. When the frying pan is very hot, add the king prawns in a line; in other words, don’t let them overlap each other. Then leave them to cook on a high heat for 2 minutes.
3. After that time, turn them over and add the remaining olive oil on top. Leave them to cook for another minute and remove them from the pan to serve. It is best to serve them as soon as possible so they don’t get cold. You can serve them with a few slices of lemon or add a few drops of lemon on top just before eating them.

Garlic king prawns

Garlic king prawns are a classic in Spanish gastronomy that can be found in many restaurants and that we can also make at home.

Let’s see what ingredients we need to make it:

• 12 king prawns
• 2 cloves garlic
• 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• cayenne pepper (to taste)

To prepare our garlic king prawns, we need to follow the steps below:

1. Peel the king prawns and remove the intestine, which is the black thread from the tail. Set aside the heads.
2. Chop two cloves of garlic into fairly thick slices and add them to an earthenware casserole dish on the hob with extra virgin olive oil. Add a little dried chilli pepper or cayenne pepper if desired.
3. When the garlics start to brown, spread the king prawn tails in the pan, seasoned with some salt.
4. Then reduce the heat and turn the king prawns over, leaving them to cook for two or three minutes on each side.
5. Now it’s time to put the heads of the king prawns in a pan; add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fry on a high heat. Then, squash the heads with a pestle to extract the juice. Leave this to infuse with the olive oil and then strain it and add the juice to the garlic king prawns, which will give them a spectacular flavour.
6. All that’s left to do now is sprinkle them with chopped parsley and take the dish to the table with a generous portion of bread to enjoy to the max.

Brothy rice with king prawns

Brothy rice with king prawns is a wonderful way of eating this special type of seafood. In brothy rice, the flavour is crucial, so it is important to make the stock with great care so the flavour is strong. This recipe can also be made using other types of seafood, such as cuttlefish, squid, monkfish...

What ingredients do we need? The following:

• 3 king prawns per guest
• 1 ripe tomato
• 3 tablespoons tomato passata
• 2 handfuls rice per guest
• 2 fish stock cubes
• ½ glass white wine
• 1 green pepper
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• water
• 1 sprig of parsley
• saffron

In terms of method, we will:

1. Sear the heads of the king prawns in a frying pan with a little oil, setting some aside to use as a garnish on top of the rice when cooked.
2. Place the heads and oil in a saucepan with the oil they have released and add the fish stock cubes, the sprig of parsley and a teaspoon of saffron.  
3. Simmer everything for approximately 20 minutes to make the stock. Important: make sure there is plenty of water because you will need enough stock for the rice to be ‘brothy’ like soup.
4. Finely chop the onion, garlic and pepper and fry in olive oil in the frying pan you used at the start.
5. Then add the white wine and leave the alcohol to evaporate.
6. Grate the ripe tomato, incorporate it and leave to cook for another 4-5 minutes.
7. Fry the rice a little and gradually add the hot and strained stock you have just prepared, ensuring it covers everything. Keep it on a low heat for approximately 20 minutes so it finishes cooking and add salt to taste (adjust if necessary).
8. Finally, serve this delicious and simple dish.

Brothy rice with octopus and king prawns

Brothy rice with octopus and king prawns is an option that lots of people love, since it is absolutely delicious. Let's not beat around the bush and see what ingredients we need:

• 300 g rice
• 8 king prawns
• 4 garlic shoots
• 200 g cooked octopus
• 2 tablespoons of ‘sofrito’ fish cooking base for rice
• 25 g extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 800 ml of fish stock
• salt
• Colouring (optional)

To make it, this time we will use a kitchen robot since it makes the task much easier:

1. Place the kitchen robot in position and insert the oil and chopped garlic shoots. Programme at 120 degrees with a power of 7 and speed 1 for 2 minutes.
2. Add the ‘sofrito’ cooking base and the paprika and programme at 120 degrees with a power of 6 and speed 1 for 30 seconds.
3. Add the rice, stock and octopus and a pinch of salt and colouring. Programme at 105 degrees with a power of 6 and speed 1 for 16 minutes.
4. Serve the rice with the sautéed king prawns and enjoy!

Rice with king prawns and cuttlefish

A tasty rice with king prawns and cuttlefish is the perfect dish for a Sunday or any day of the week.

In terms of ingredients, you will need:

• 400 g bomba rice
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• half green pepper
• half red pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 240 g cuttlefish
• 240 g de gamba
• 1 sachet saffron
• 800 ml fish stock (fumet)
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt

The method is as follows:

1. Dice the onion, garlic and peppers and sear the king prawns and cuttlefish with a little oil on a high heat. Set aside.
2. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a paella pan and fry the garlic and onion for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and bay leaf and fry for another 10 minutes. Add the tomato passata and cook for a further 10 minutes.
3. When the ‘sofrito’ base sauce is cooked thoroughly, add a dessert spoon of paprika and stir for 10 seconds. Add the rice and stock and, most importantly, check there is enough salt before starting to cook the rice.
4. Add the cuttlefish, prawns and saffron and cook everything together for 17-18 minutes.

You can also make an aioli sauce to accompany the rice, although it is always better to enjoy this irresistible flavour by itself so nothing takes away from it. It can be served with an aperitif or salad.