In April of 711, the Arab governor of Tangiers, Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the strait between what are now Morocco and Spain with an army of 10,000 Berbers. At the time the Iberian peninsula was ruled by the Goths and their king, Roderick, took an army south to repel the Moorish invader, but Tariq and his troops defeated Roderick's army in a battle near the River Guadalete.
Tariq's army then followed the old Roman roads north to the Goths' capital city, Toledo, taking the cities of Ejica and Cordoba along the way. Resistance was minimal, whether reduced by Tariq's intimidatory propaganda (reportedly he'd had group of prisoners cut into pieces and their flesh boiled in cauldrons) or not. The invasion had been ordered by Musa, the governor of North Africa, who joined the invasion the following year with another Berber army of 18,000 -- including a large number of Arab officers. Musa took Medina Sidonia, Seville, and Merida, where a last stand by the Goths failed. And that was more or less that for the next 700 years until the Christians defeated the Moors and drove them out.
To this day traditional Spanish architecture shows a clear Moorish influence -- so does the cuisine.
Called Pinchos Morunos (Moorish Pointed Stick or Thorns), this recipe, adaped from the Williams-Sonoma Web site, highlights the Moorish influence on Spanish cooking. The Moors didn't eat pork but the Spaniards have, apparently, always loved eating pig. I can imagine the marinade with lamb, but judging by the results I'm positive it has been tweaked over the centuries to specifically complement pork.
These bites of pork are extraordinarily good. Close your eyes and taste the spices swirling across your tongue. One moment they stamp on your taste buds -- a Flamingo dancer pounding a rhythm of sensation, hard heels beating a tattoo with skirts flouncing. Then the flouncing skirts morph into swaying silks and delicate veils and the erotic languor of a belly dance caresses your tongue. Two cultures, choreographed into a seamless dance across the palate. Romancing the nose. Seducing the belly.
Moorish Pork Kabobs (Pinchos Morunos)
Serves 8.1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 lb pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 c fresh lemon juiceCombine the olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small skillet over low heat. Cook until warmed through and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Place the pork pieces in a bowl and rub with the spice mixture. Add the garlic, parsley and lemon juice and toss well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat, or prepare a hot fire in a grill.
Thread the meat onto skewers and season with salt. Grill on all sides until just cooked through, 12 - 15 minutes total.
In an alternate life, the Paisano is Kevin Weeks: a Gather food correspondent, personal chef, cooking teacher, and writer in Knoxville, Tennessee who spends too many hours on his feet, cooking. "Paisano" the column focuses on peasant dishes from around the world, Paisano the character is fictional. To read more of Kevin's writings or connect to him click here. His blog, Seriously Good, is read by 75,000 cooks a month.
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Comments: 36
They are.
Gaelyn,
You too.
Beverly,
The spice combination is outstanding with just enough heat to make it interesting.
Don,
Sure thing.
Amy,
They're easy too, give them a try.
You wrote: {Tariq's intimidatory propaganda (he'd had group of prisoners cut into pieces and their flesh boiled in cauldrons) or not.} I am not sure if this is historically correct, or adds value to your essay? I see that it only can feed into the stereotype of Arabs and Muslims alike. All wars carried by leaders around the world were barbaric and shameful. There is no need to point fingers.
I changed the reference to "reportedly." I found two online references and I have two here at home, but the story is slightly different in each. However, the comment wasn't intended as a condemnation of Muslims, had I been writing about Jewish cooking in Spain I would certainly have mentioned the atrocities the Christians perpetrated on the Jews during the Inquisition. And for that matter, a similar article on South American cooking would certainly mention the cruelties of Pizarro and Cortez. As you note, no one has a lock on barbarism,
The Spanish love their lamb, too, and in Castilla, especially roasted. As recently as 30 years ago, even within the borders of the city of Madrid, along the eastern side, you could still see fields where shepherds and their dogs keps herds of sheep and goats, the females' udders heavy with the milk that becomes manchego cheese (although more recenty, the Madrid herders have had to change the name of their cheese since manchego has become a protected denominación de origen for the specific area of La Mancha south of Madrid).
Your historical background tells a great part of the story. Do you know why many Arab lamb dishes became pork? It is true that the Spanish have always loved their piggies; Muslims eschew pork. During the Reconquista, it became an important emblem of being a Christian that one ate pork. Spies pretending to be converts were caught when they wouln't eat, or ate and vomited pork. I first learned the stories of Tariq's brutalities in a history course I took at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, so have never questioned their veracity. Furthermore, they fit in with the abuses of subsequent history. The mother of a dear friend of mine was a girlin her mid teens when the Muslim Turks invaded her homeland of Armenia and began their brutal holocaust, developing methods taken over in the next generation by the imitator Hitler. She was brutally raped and beaten repeatedly for refusing to convert from Christianity to Islam, as were the other girls with whome she was imprisoned.
Stereotype, Dalal??? Truth. I knew the woman well until her death at age 92.
Your own Koran teaches you to tret both Christians and Jews gently as "people of the book" but may fail to heed it in their abusive treatment of Christian minorities in your countries as well as in countries you invade.
Kevin, thanks for the succinct review of the conquista and the delectable recipe.
What I am trying to say here is there was no need in such aliquently written article about food and culture to have such facts. I would understand it if Kevin said they skewered the meat of their prisoners and ate then it would have tied together much better. Don't you think?
Peace bestowed upon you my friends_Salam.
And during the Inquisition pork was used as a means of identifying Jews.
Sonia,
I don't recall what we ate in Segovia, we may have taken a picnic lunch, I'll have to try to dredge the memory up.
Where I come from we are very generous people, we welcome alll faiths, they live among us and we respect them. And we have never invaded any. What happened in history I can not be accounted for. What is happeneing now, yes you are accounted for.
pj
This recipe is so timely. I am actually sitting here reading it while munching lunch : left-over shish-kebabs, Filipino style. How cool is that? Amazing synchronicity!
The last time we visited the Philippines, my husband was constantly lured by the aroma of "barbeque" the more common name used for shish-kebab, by roadside vendors who grilled the stuff everyday for hungry tourists and natives alike. Fearing his American tummy might not be able to handle the sometimes questionable sanitary conditions of the open places, my relatives would not allow him to buy or taste them from the open-air tindahans He was always catered to when we got home, he got all of the tasting adventures he desired thru the help of in-home cooks.
Our Filipino shish-kebab marinade is a close relative of the recipe used for our native adobo .
Instead of the lemon juice, we use Nipa Palm vinegar with lots of garlic, soy sauce, pineapple juice. I've doctored my recipe by adding a bit of hoisin sauce, sesame oil, five spice, and red chili paste. The aroma is incredible and rich... the taste, according to my grandkids, is definitely a "gimme more".
I am saving yours to try next week... Thanks so much!
I'd love to see your recipe.
It does smell woderful.
Donna,
Timing is everything.
My recipe? You just read it in my comments. :-)
I am one of those who never measure anything. I'm a throw-a-little-bit-of-this-add-a-little-of-that,t aste-and-adjust- type of cook...
Dalal;
I add 5 Spice to the mixture of vinegar, crushed garlic, soy sauce, pineapple juice, a bit of hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and red chili paste. I marinate the pieces of pork at least overnight.
BTW, I prefer using pork rump roast. I don't remove all the fat either... leaving some on the cut pieces of pork prevents the skewered meat from drying out while it cooks over hot coals.
Nipa palm vinegar is found at any Filipino-owned or the bigger Oriental grocery stores. You may substitute any vinegar really. In the Philippines we have varied choices including:
Sukang Iloko - made from cane sugar
Sukang Niyog - made from coconut
Sukang Paombong - is palm vinegar
I'm also known to substitute Rice wine for the vinegar. Much depends on how strongly sour I want the dish to taste, eventually.
These suckers really blew me away. Extraordinarily good.
CW.
Peanut sauce is a good idea.
Of course it does, because it is and you have good taste.
Duckie O., your style of cooking reminds me of my mom. I have to cook with her to get her recipes. Well, actually I assist her...always trouble when you have too many cooks! And I do like your suggestion to leave some fat on the meat. The extra fatty skewers would be the ones that I'd reach for. ;)
It is good.
I just had to let you know that I made this last night for my boyfriend with couscous with cumin, tumeric, garlic, cinnamon, onion and raisins and it was a fabulous meal. The spice of the pork kabobs was tempered by the sweetness of the cinnamon and raisins. We enjoyed it with a nice Rioja and are looking forward to the leftovers tonight!
Can't wait to try your other recipes!!
Thanks!