Gamba de Palamós
The Costa Brava's flagship deep-water red prawn, landed at Palamós and traceable by daily quayside auction — eaten barely cooked so the sweetness shows.
Gamba de Palamós is the prized red prawn (Aristeus antennatus) trawled from deep water off the Costa Brava and landed at the Girona port of Palamós, where a daily auction and traceability scheme underpin its reputation and its price. The flesh is sweet and delicate, so cooks do as little to it as possible: a brief grill or a quick boil with sea salt, and the intensely flavoured juices in the head are sucked out separately. It is at its best and most abundant in the warmer months.
How it's served
Briefly grilled or boiled with little more than sea salt; the head juices are pressed out and eaten separately.
- Origin
- Palamós, Costa Brava, Catalonia
- Etymology
- Gamba is Catalan and Spanish for prawn or shrimp; Palamós is the Costa Brava fishing port where it is landed.
Frequently asked
Why is the Palamós prawn so prized and expensive?
It is a deep-water red prawn with sweet, delicate flesh, caught in limited quantities off the Costa Brava and sold through a traceable daily auction at Palamós. Freshness, scarcity and a strong reputation push the price up, especially at peak season.
How should you eat a red prawn?
Simply. A quick grill or boil with sea salt, then eat the tail meat and press the juices from the head — the sweetest, most intense part — separately.
Related terms
- Gamba rojaThe deep-red Mediterranean prawn from the Catalan and Valencian coast. One of the most prized seafood ingredients in Spain, eaten grilled or raw.
- Gamba de SóllerMallorca's prized deep-water red prawn, trawled out of Port de Sóller and Port d'Andratx and eaten barely cooked — the island's answer to Palamós.
- PercebesGalician goose barnacles. Pried off wave-battered rocks at low tide, boiled briefly in seawater, eaten with hands. One of the most expensive seafoods in Spain.