Moorish Skewers

Name: Moorish Skewers (Pinchitos morunos)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 1 bay leaf, preferably fresh, crumbled or chopped very finely; ½ small bunch fresh oregano, roughly chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 dessertspoon olive oil; 1 dessertspoon red wine vinegar; ½ heaped teaspoon each of coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds, all roughly ground; 1 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika; 2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with salt; a good pinch of saffron (about 60 strands), infused in 2 tablespoons boiling water; 1 pork fillet of 500 g, trimmed of fat and sinew; sea salt and black pepper

Pinchitos morunos

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Moro

By Samantha Clark and Samuel Clark

Published 2001

About

‘Pinchitos morunos’ is an extremely popular tapa in Andalucía. As the name suggests, skewers of meat (originally lamb, but nowadays mostly pork) are marinated in a mixture of Moorish spices and grilled over charcoal. You will need four wooden or metal skewers about 25cm long, or eight of 15cm long.

Ingredients

1 pork fillet of 500 g, trimmed of fat and sinew
sea salt and black pepper

Europe
Spain
Andalucía
Starter
Gluten-free
Spicy
Mediterranean

Method

Cut the pork fillet in half lengthways and then into 3cm cubes. Flatten these cubes slightly. Place the pork in a large mixing bowl and add the marinade dry spices, garlic, saffron-infused water, oregano, bay and vinegar and mix thoroughly. Then add the olive oil, toss again and leave in the fridge for 2 hours so the flavours of the marinade get into the meat.

Grilling pork over charcoa