Pinchitos Morunos (Dena and Sam)

Small Spicy Moorish Kebabs

Europe's first kebabs were brought by the Arabs from Africa. Pinchitos morunos are eaten everywhere in Spain as a tapa, though nowadays they are made of pork, rather than lamb.

Spices for them are sold ready-mixed in the south. I have used curry powder as part of my mixture as it contains cumin and very similar herbs.

Serves 6
Difficulty: very easy

Preparation time: 25 min. plus 2 hours marinating

Ingredients
1 lb. lean pork, cut into small cubes
2 garlic gloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon mild curry powder or pinchito spice mixture
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preparation

Crush the garlic with the salt in a mortar (or with the flat of a knife on a board), then work in the other ingredients.

Skewer the pork, 3-4 cubes to a small stick, and marinate them in a shallow dish with the herbs (pinchito spice, coriander, paprika, and thyme), turning so they are well coated. Leave at least a couple of hours.

Spread the pinchitos out well on a barbecue or on foil under a grill. Cook them under a high heat for about 3 minutes on each side.