Pinchos Morunos: A popular Spanish Tapa!

2016-03-05-11.09.42.jpg.jpg

 

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.

2016-03-05-11.10.18.jpg.jpg

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

32 thoughts on “Pinchos Morunos: A popular Spanish Tapa!”

  2. 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

    1. 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!

    2. 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!!!!!

  5. 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.

  10. 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. 🙂

  12. 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!

Comments are closed.