I had never tried pinchos morunos until I came to Spain. They were on the menu on practically every tapas bar I saw but I had no idea what they were. My mother and I had set out to discover all the new and wonderful things we saw listed on the menus which were tantalizingly displayed outside. If that didn´t lure us in then the possibility of a cold beer or glass of wine to accompany it surely did. This became a favourite. ¨Pincho¨ means ¨skewers¨ and Moruno means that it is of Moorish origin. Who were the Moors? According to Wikipedia:
The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during the Middle Ages.
In 711 the Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa and called the territory Al-Andalus[Modern day Andalucia] which at its peak included most of modern-day Spain, Portugal, and Septimania.
This recipe is simple to make and I would recommend marinating them overnight. You can use chicken,lamb, pork or beef. My favourite is the pork.
This makes about four skewers. I think you will want to double it.
600 g of cubed chicken,lamb, pork or beef
15 g lemon juice
½ an onion, chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic (feel free to add ore if you are keen on it!)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
3 teaspoons cumin
Generous dash of salt and pepper
A pinch of cinnamon
A pinch of saffron
130 g olive oil
The day before
Mix all of the ingredients (except for the meat) well. Taste before adding the meat to see if you want to add any more cumin or salt etc.
Put the meat in a Tupperware and pour the marinade over it. Close it and give it a good shake to coat the meat well and evenly.
Put it in the fridge overnight.
The next day
The next day, put the meat on skewers. You can fry these on a large flat frying pan on high heat until well browned or you can put them in the oven. I preheated my oven to about 250 and lined a baking tray with foil.
I placed the skewers and roasted them for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remember that every oven is different so when you see these little guys turning golden and juicy, they are ready!
I will be taking this recipe over to Fiesta Friday and to Throwback Thursday . I am also cooking my way through the Spanish alphabet and this is going to count as my ¨CH¨. the only food that I can think of that begins with ¨ch¨is churros and I don´t like them very much! I prefer my pinchos! (And they go much better with a glass of wine or a beer;)
Have a great day everyone and thank you for stopping by!
xxxx Natascha
they look so good Natascha ! I love it when you also put a little information regarding the recipe origin ! 🙂
thank you so much! I love learning the story behind a recipe too!
I like the look of these…They make me hungry! Can’t wait to try it sometime…so when are the results for the Pancake Challenge? So are you planning to host any challenges in the near future
I will finally have time to check the recipes tonight! I can´t wait! And yes I have another challenge coming up! I am working on it and should be able to post it by the weekend!
Cool…looking forward to it
Thank you so much!
Ok… I have finally read the pancake posts and they are just so beautiful..including yours!I have some ideas for winners like Freda, Antonia and Trupti! Do you have any suggestions? Gosh it is hard to choose!!!!!
Freda, CH, and yours were my picks😊 this challenge Was fun!!!!
Oh cool!! I will post the results on Saturday or tomorrow! I am thinking of another one which I will post this weekend too! 😍😍❤❤👍👍
They look fabulous! Is that oven temp 250 C or F?
Celsius!! Thank you so much. A lovely taste of Spain!!!
Drooling here !! I can live on this kind of food 😀😀 fantastic , Natascha 🙂
Haha! Thank you so much! I could live on this stuff too. Great minds think alike!! 👍👍👍
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These look delicious and the recipe is easy enough for me to follow. I lived in Spain for a year and loved it. Thanks for this lovely post.
Wow! These look so delicious! Love the cinnamon mixed in with the other spices… cannot wait to try this dish!
Thank you so much! I hope you like them too! Xxxxx
Delicious. 🙂
Thank you so much! Easy too! 👍👍👍👍
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These sound great Natascha! I have never heard of them! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You’re welcome! They are so easy too. I love that part!
Makes it even better! 😉
So true! Less time working and tidying and more time for munching😊😊😊
They look so flavorful Natascha! I need to try this the next time we grill out 🙂
Oh yes! On a grill they are even better! Thank you somuch! 😍😍😍
Although Philippines has been colonized by Spaniards, I am not that aware or let’s say, uhm, I don’t know much Spanish cuisine. This one looks so good, Natascha. I am happy to see you here at FF party. 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much! Great to see you too! Enjoy your weekend, my friend! ❤❤❤
I’ve never heard of this recipe, but love how simple it is and the spice profile! This will be perfect for grilling out now that it’s getting nicer out!
Oh, I agree! These guys on a grill is just heavenly! The spice gives the pork a kick but doesn’t overwhelm. 👍👍😙😙😙😙😉😉😉
It is always good to know the story or the origin of a dish. I learned a couple of Spanish words from this post. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this at Fiesta Fridays!
Thank YOU for taking the time to comment! Have a great weekend!! 😙😙😙