Carabinero prawn ◆

Gambon écarlate (carabinero)

What it is

It is trawled from several hundred metres down, deep enough that red is invisible there — so the scarlet is permanent colour rather than anything cooking produces. The head holds a thick, almost buttery orange liquid, and in Andalusian kitchens the tails are often the offcut: it is the heads that get pressed for the sauce.

In the kitchen

Cook it whole and briefly — thirty seconds a side on a very hot plancha with coarse salt — then break the head over the plate and press it with your thumb. Never boil it: the head liquid disperses into the water and what is left is an ordinary prawn.

Goes with

Olive oil Garlic Fleur de sel de Guérande Parsley Brandy de Jerez Saffron Carnaroli rice

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