Our Spanish prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe makes my take on revuelto de espárragos con gambas from Southern Spain traditionally made with espárragos trigueros, wild asparagus. Here in Australia, I use gorgeous baby asparagus, just blanched to keep their vibrant colour and fresh green taste, and big beautiful Australian tiger prawns, which are unbelievably sweet, deliciously meaty and robust in flavour. Fantastic for weekend brunch or breakfast for dinner, in Spain it’s often served as a tapa or for supper.
Asparagus is in season here in Australia and it’s incredibly cheap at around A$1-1.50 or US$70c-$1 for a bunch of baby asparagus. It’s addictively delicious: I’m eating raw asparagus, which I dip into homemade hummus, which I make every few days. If you haven’t taken advantage of the affordable asparagus yet, because you’re not sure what to do with it, try this prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe from Southern Spain this weekend.
There’s nothing like beautiful fresh seasonal produce to get you out of a cooking rut and that was the case with the arrival of spring asparagus and the glut of asparagus I’m loving using. Since baby asparagus was discounted, I’ve been buying bunches every day and diving into Terence’s Weekend Eggs recipes archive, because asparagus and eggs are a perfect match. I made this classic poached eggs, asparagus and pancetta from Venice and Terence’s modern take on that dish.
I also made this pan-fried asparagus on pesto hummus for lunch and this gnocchi with asparagus, mushrooms, bacon and parmesan for dinner. Yesterday I made this sautéed asparagus on goat’s cheese with dukkah and pesto oil (note: spreadable cream cheese and labneh also work) and this spinach ricotta gnocchi with pesto, asparagus, broccolini and dukkah, one of my best pasta recipes according to Mum.
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Prawn and Asparagus Scrambled Eggs Recipe from Southern Spain
If you adore asparagus and prawns as much as I do, and you’re a fan of scrambled eggs — and if you are, we have lots of scrambled eggs recipes here, as well as a compilation of our best prawn/shrimp recipes here — you’re going to love this prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe from Southern Spain.
This scrambled eggs recipe makes my spin on revuelto de espárragos con gambas, a Spanish egg dish you’ll sometimes see on the specials menu at tapas bars and restaurants in Andalucia. Typically served as a tapa sized dish or larger racione, it’s often shared. A Spanish friend says she used to make this for a late supper in the same way Italians cook midnight spaghetti.
The reason you might not have spotted revuelto de espárragos con gambas on restaurant menus during your travels through Southern Spain, where wild asparagus grows, is because, being wild, it’s seasonal. The size of baby asparagus here in Australia, the thin asparagus are called espárragos trigueros. But ‘trigueros’ doesn’t mean ‘wild’, as you might think.
‘Trigueros’ comes from the word ‘trigo‘ for wheat, as in durum wheat or trigo duro, as the wild asparagus grows in the wheat fields. The southern region of Andalucia — which Spanish food lovers would know as the birthplace of gazpacho, and travellers as the home to the great cities of Seville, Granada, Córdoba, and Jerez — is also known for its wheat, growing most of Spain’s wheat in the the countryside around those cities.
And while it might not feel like it — especially if you travelled inland to Andalucia on the fast train from Madrid — Seville, Granada, Córdoba, and Jerez aren’t that far from the coast. Jerez is just 30kms or so from Cádiz, famed for its fantastic fresh seafood, including a whole array of wonderful prawns from the Gulf of Cádiz and Atlantic waters.
When we settled into our home away from home in Jerez for two weeks during the yearlong global grand tour that launched this site, we shopped the Jerez Market, the grand old Mercado Central de Abastos de Jerez, which was just around the corner from our Jerez apartment rental. There were long lines at the fishmongers’ stalls, where wonderful fresh seafood was sold daily. I should mention: if you click on that link to the market, you’ll see wild asparagus in the main set of three images.
Just a few tips to making this Spanish prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe.
Tips to Making this Prawn and Asparagus Scrambled Eggs Recipe
Here are some tips to making this scrambled eggs with prawn and asparagus recipe for revuelto de espárragos con gambas from Southern Spain.
Prep the Asparagus
I use baby asparagus for this prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe. Also called thin asparagus, baby asparagus is sold by the 100g in supermarkets here in Australia, which is around 12-14 baby asparagus spears.
Wash the asparagus and trim the woody ends off the baby asparagus, but don’t cut the spears yet, as you need to blanche the asparagus first.
Blanche the Asparagus
Bring a small pot of water to boil and add a pinch of salt, and prep a bowl of cold water with ice cubes large enough to hold the asparagus spears.
When you have a rolling boil, drop the asparagus into the boiling water for 1-2 minutes — one minute if you like your asparagus to remain crunchy, as we do, or closer to 2 minutes if you prefer your asparagus a tad soft. Keep in mind that baby asparagus or thin asparagus cooks a lot faster than the larger asparagus pieces.
Use tongs to gently transfer the spears to the water bath for 1 minute. Blanching keeps the asparagus bright green and crunchy. Remove the asparagus, pat them dry, and cut the asparagus spears into quarters.
Prep the Prawns
As I said above, I buy cooked Australian tiger prawns for this prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe, as there’s really nothing like them. Australian tiger prawns are the quintessential Australian prawns for me. They’re so incredibly sweet, with a firm texture, and they’re full of flavour. They’re my favourite prawn.
When Australian tiger prawns are in season, you can buy the fresh prawns cooked in the shell at Australian fish markets and seafood co-operatives, as well as from supermarket seafood counters.
I have so many great childhood memories of my parents buying cooked cold prawns from fish co-ops and sitting at a table overlooking the ocean as we peeled them together. We happily ate them just with tartare sauce or piled into fresh buns from a hot bread shop. That’s my idea of a perfect summer lunch.
Australian tiger prawns can be expensive, but I often find them discounted at supermarkets in the late afternoon or early evening, especially on a Sunday. I’m told this is because the supermarkets order more prawns for weekends, and are sometimes left with stock that has to be eaten.
When Australian tiger prawns are boiled in the shell and chilled, they stay nice and firm, which is what you want for these scrambled eggs. You won’t be cooking the prawns again, you’ll just toss them in the pan after the asparagus to warm them a tad before adding the eggs for scrambling.
If you can’t get fresh Australian tiger prawns, buy any large or extra large meaty prawns, either peeled or unpeeled, raw, cooked or frozen. If the prawns are frozen, you’ll need to allow time for them to defrost. If the prawns are raw, you’ll need to cook them for longer, just take care not to overcook them so they’re soft, as you’ll still want the prawns quite firm.
Garlic Flavours
A traditional revuelto de espárragos con gambas recipe calls for garlic scapes or garlic shoots, which I rarely see here in Australia. We can source them more easily in Cambodia.
Some recipes call for several garlic cloves in lieu of the garlic scapes, but I use just a clove of garlic instead, as I prefer a subtle garlic flavour, not the strong garlicky taste of garlic prawns.
The garlic cloves I’ve been buying a huge, however, so obviously if you have small garlic cloves, use more.
Fresh Herbs
A classic Spanish prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe calls for fresh flat-leaf parsley, also called continental parsley here in Australia. But I love a combination of fresh flat-leaf parsley and fresh dill sprigs.
Of course fresh dill is not traditionally used in cooking in Spain or the Mediterranean and is more closely associated with the cooking of Eastern Europe, the Baltics and Scandinavia. But with Russian-Ukrainian heritage, I love to fresh dill in almost everything.
(And I love that fresh dill also gets used in Southeast Asia, our home of 16 years. It’s wonderful in this Vietnamese claypot fish and this fabulous fresh herb salad by chef Chalee Kader of 100 Mahaseth restaurant in Bangkok.)
Fresh dill is wonderful with seafood, with eggs, and also with asparagus, which is why I think it works so well with these scrambled eggs. Not traditional, as I said, but that’s why I’ve called this ‘my take’.
Make sure to save some of the fresh herbs for garnishing.
Chilli Flakes
Again, not traditional, as Spanish cooks use pimentón or paprika in cooking — paprika is probably the quintessential Spanish spice — and don’t use chilli flakes in this dish. But I just love chilli flakes sprinkled over these prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs. Skip the chilli flakes if you’re not a fan of spice.
Grated Cheese
I like to grate some cheese onto the scrambled eggs in the pan, as well as after plating. When I can, I love to use some Parmigiano Reggiano, but I was also able to get hold of some mature Spanish manchego recently, which was wonderful.
Plating and Serving
It’s not in the recipe, but after plating you could drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle a little flaky sea salt, and grind on some fresh cracked black pepper if you’re not using chilli flakes.
This makes enough to serve two or three people for breakfast or lunch or a serving large enough to feed two as a breakfast for dinner main for sharing.
But if you’re serving these prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs as part of a spread of Spanish tapas dishes, you could easily feed four people, with toasted sourdough on the side. Enjoy!
Prawn and Asparagus Scrambled Eggs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 baby asparagus - trimmed off woody ends, around 100g; also called thin asparagus and wild asparagus
- 2 tbsp olive oil - best quality you can afford
- 1 garlic clove - peeled and minced
- 8 tiger prawns - cooked, peeled, cut into thirds; or other large prawns
- 6 large eggs - lightly beaten with a fork or whisk
- 1 pinch sea salt - optional
- 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley - roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh dill - sprigs only
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese - or a Spanish cheese such as an aged manchego or galmesán
- 1 tsp chilli flakes - or more or less to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil and add a pinch of salt, and prep a bowl of cold water with ice cubes large enough to hold the asparagus spears.
- When you have a rolling boil, drop the asparagus into the boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then use tongs to gently transfer the spears to the water bath for 1 minute. Remove the asparagus, pat the spears dry, and cut them into quarters.
- To a non-stick frying pan over medium, add the olive oil, heat, then add the garlic, sauté until it smells fragrant, and just before the garlic begins to colour, add the chopped asparagus spears.
- Sauté the chopped asparagus spears for a minute if you like them to remain firm and crispy, or 2-3 minutes if you prefer them softer.
- To the same pan, add the cooked prawns, and sauté for 30 seconds or so, just enough to warm them.
- Pour the lightly beaten eggs into the pan, add a pinch of sea salt, gently stir the eggs to combine the prawns and asparagus spears.
- Add half the fresh flat leaf parsley and dill sprigs, stir again to combine, add half the grated cheese, and take the pan off the heat. The eggs don’t need to be completely cooked, as they will continue to cook and become more creamy off the heat.
- Transfer the scrambled eggs to a serving plate, scatter with the rest of the fresh herbs and grated cheese, sprinkle on some chilli flakes, and serve immediately. This dish makes enough for 2 people to share as a main, or 3-4 people to share as a tapas dish.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make our Spanish prawn and asparagus scrambled eggs recipe, as we love to know how our recipes turn out for you. Feel free to share your feedback and tips in the comments below.
