Pinchitos, Kebabs, Kabobs, Brochettes… Food on skewers. Grilled, boiled, even roasted. They are popular in many countries. And delicious. I will make my own pinchitos. This is the way we call them in Spain. Pinchitos Morunos. Moorish Kebabs in English. They are called like this because Arabs were the first ones to introduce this delicacy in Spain. My pinchitos are pork pinchitos, something that Arabs, of course, would never do. Mix of cultures. This is one of the many things I like about food. You can mix cultures, you can mix ingredients. You can adapt a good recipe to your culture. And that is what pinchitos morunos are. Of course, you can adapt your pinchitos as well. Use lamb, beef or even chicken. Use vegetables too: red or green pepper, tomato… Use your imagination.
Ingredients:
1 pound pork, cubed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
First we will marinate the meat. To do this we will put the pork in a container. And then the rest of the ingredients. We will mix well, cover the container and put it in the refrigerator for at least four hours. If you let it marinate overnight, it will be really good. The longer, the better. I use the oven to make my pinchitos. You, of course, can grill or barbecue them. They will be good no matter how you do it. You can use metal or wooden skewers. If you use wooden skewers, you should wet them before threading the pork. That will prevent them from burning. Take the skewers and thread the pork. Put the skewers with the meat on the sides of the tray so that they do not touch the bottom of the tray. When you are doing it, put every piece of garlic and ginger onto the pieces of pork. We want to make the most of every piece of garlic and ginger. And now to the oven, which must be preheated to 400ºF. You will cook your pinchitos for about 30 minutes. And enjoy. They are perfect served with a Couscous Salad. You can serve some mayonnaise sauce as well.