Skewer It!

 From espetones to pinchitos, kebabs to brochettes, satay to kefta, foods cooked on skewers are favorite fare right around the world. They may have been invented for easy cooking over a wood fire, but brochettes are especially adaptable to pan-grilling in the kitchen. This makes them perfect for winter when the gas barbecue on the patio has been stored for the season.

Marinated swordfish grills on a plancha.

Plancha means “metal plate.” (The same word is used for an “iron” for pressing clothing.) The kitchen plancha is a griddle or cast-iron grill pan that sets over the stovetop burner. It can be reversible, ridged on one side, flat on the other. Modern versions are electric and have no-stick surfaces. 

How to grill on a plancha: Place the plancha over high heat until very hot, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with coarse salt (same procedure whether using a flat or ridged grill pan). Place food to be grilled on the plancha. Keep the heat on high to get a good sear on the food. Don’t move it around. Turn the food when the bottom is browned.

 Be sure to turn on the extractor fan to draw out the smoke from grilling. If you don’t have a plancha, substitute a large cast iron skillet. Use any type of skewer that fits the grill surface—metal or bamboo. Bamboo skewers are usually soaked in water before use to prevent their scorching.

Skewered and grilled foods usually benefit from a marinade. They may or may not be served with a sauce. Those espetones—whole sardines threaded on skewers and grilled at the beach—for instance, need only a squeeze of lemon. 

Easy meal--skewered swordfish, side dish of cous cous. The cous cous can be served hot or cold, like a tabouleh salad.

Swordfish Brochettes

Brochetas de Pez Espada

If swordfish is not available, any “meaty,” solid-fleshed fish can be substituted. Possibilities are monkfish (rape); dogfish shark (cazón), tuna (atún or bonito) or salmon. 

Garlic, parsley, lemon and cumin for marinade.

Makes 7 or 8 brochettes.

1 ¼  pounds swordfish fillets or steaks

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup chopped parsley

3 cloves chopped garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cumin 

Onions cut in wedges stem to root

Lemon wedges to serve

Coarse salt (for grill-pan)

Quick marinade adds flavor.

Remove skin and center bone from swordfish. Cut the fish into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle it with salt.

In a bowl combine 1 teaspoon salt, parsley, garlic, oil, lemon juice, pepper, and cumin.  Add the swordfish cubes and mix gently. Cover and marinate, refrigerated, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.

Thread fish on bamboo skewers.

Remove swordfish from the marinade, saving the marinade. Thread 3 or 4 cubes of fish on skewers, alternating with onion wedges.

Heat a grill-pan. Brush the brochettes with some of the remaining marinade. If using a grill, stick a lemon wedge on a fork to wipe the grill rack to prevent the fish from sticking. If using a grill-pan, sprinkle it with coarse salt. Grill until fish is lightly browned on one side. Brush with any remaining marinade and turn the brochettes. Grill until done on reverse side. Serve accompanied by lemon.

Lamb kebabs grilling on a plancha.

More ideas for skewered foods:

Lamb Kebabs.

Adobo-Marinated Fish Kebabs.

Lamb Kidney Kebabs.

Spicy Skewered Pork (Pinchitos).

Mini-Kebabs with Chicken.

Skewered Lamb Kefta with Harissa.

LAMB, SPICED AND SKEWERED

Spiced and skewered chunks of lamb grill just until browned.

Back in balmier days, I had the butcher bone and open out a whole leg of lamb for cooking on the grill. I didn’t use the whole piece of meat, so I stored some of it in the freezer. This week, on the occasion of my birthday, I defrosted it for making lamb kebabs.

My favorite kebab recipe is Persian chelo kebab. Chelo is steamed rice and kebab is marinated chunks of lamb, skewered and cooked on a grill. The marinade of grated onion both tenderizes and flavors the meat. Saffron and sumac plus salt and pepper are the only seasonings used.

This time I planned to experiment with a Spanish-style marinade, using the spice blend for pinchitos morunos. Pinchitos are mini-kebabs spiced in the “Moorish” manner that are favorite tapa bar fare. In Spain they are usually made with small pieces of pork. Just across the Straits of Gibraltar, in Morocco, similar mini-kebabs are made with beef or lamb. The Spanish spice blend is a simplification of the Moroccan ras el-hanout. It can be purchased con pique and sin pique--with or without picante spice of hot pimentón or cayenne.

Ten spices make the blend.

I have both ras el-hanout that I brought back from Morocco and Spanish especia para pinchitos. Both contain potenciador de sabor—MSG, monosodium glutamate, a flavor-enhancing additive. So I mixed my own spice blend.

For kebabs, the meat is cut in good-sized cubes, so that in grilling, it stays medium-rare. Whereas, pork pinchitos are cut very small to cook thoroughly in the time it takes to brown the meat. I used a flat grill pan (plancha), making it easier to turn the kebabs than a ridged pan. The kebabs would also be good on a charcoal or wood fire.

I served the kebabs on top of cous cous with zeilouk, a Moroccan “salad” as accompanying sauce or side dish.

Skewered and grilled lamb is served atop cous cous, with a garnish of pomengranate seeds. Moroccan zeilouk salad on the side serves as a spicy sauce.

Push the meat off the skewers. Mix with cous cous and a spoonful of the zeilouk salad-sauce.

Lamb is browned on the outside, pink on the inside.

Pinchito Spice Blend
Especia para Pinchitos

Use freshly purchased spices or grind them yourself. Double or triple the recipe and store the spice, tightly covered and protected from direct light. The spice blend is good on roast chicken or lamb chops as well as the kebabs.

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot pimentón or ¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon pimentón (paprika), not smoked
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
Grating of nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all of the spices in a bowl. Store them, tightly covered, in a glass jar away from direct light. 

Lamb Kebabs
Brochetas de Cordero

Serves 4.

1 ½ pounds boneless lamb from leg or shoulder
1 ½ teaspoons pinchito spice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pieces of red bell pepper
Slices of onion

Trim off excess fat.

Remove fat covering from meat. Cut meat into 1 ½-inch pieces. Place in a non-reactive bowl. Add the spice blend, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and oil. Mix well to coat all of the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

Spices, garlic, lemon juice and parsley for marinade.

Thread the cubes of lamb on skewers (metal ones are best)  with a few pieces of red pepper and onion between the pieces of meat.  

Heat a flat grill pan and brush it with oil. Grill the kebabs until browned on all sides and cooked medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side. 

Moroccan eggplant salad, zeilouk. Recipe is here.

More recipes for kebabs:

Chicken Mini-Kebabs (Pinchitos). 
Pork Mini-Kebabs (Piinchitos).

Swordfish Kebabs.

STREET FOOD

Hooray, Carnaval! Cancelled two weeks in a row because of rain, today carnaval processions hit the streets in my village with raucous banging, ringing, singing and dancing.

Carnavales are the pre-Lenten bacchanalia that, by the Church calendar, should have ended a week ago. But, all that planning for costumes shouldn’t go by the wayside because of a few rainstorms!

After the groups make their way through village streets, everyone congregates in the big plaza for more music, shenanigans, showing off and awards for best costumes. And, of course, food. On this sunny afternoon a couple of bars are serving drinks and snacks.

Pinchitos are spicy mini-kebabs grilled on a plancha. Also from the plancha are hamburgers and thinly-sliced pork loin placed on mini-buns and garnished with lettuce and tomatoes. A huge paella gets a final garnish of shrimp before being served up to the crowds.

Another stall (this one in benefit of a charity) sells small bowls of potaje de callos, a tripe and sausage stew with garbanzos (the recipe is here).

Later in the afternoon, ladies fire up a vat of oil to fry buñuelos, small crullers or doughnuts, so good with the thick, thick hot chocolate ladled from a big pot. (The recipe for drinking chocolate is here.)

Mini-Kebabs with Moorish Spices
Pinchitos Morunos

Exotic Moorish spices from nearby Morocco give the meat—usually pork—a lot of flavor. In Spain, spice vendors sell a ready-mixed blend, especia para pinchitos, pinchito spice, which contains lots of cumin, coriander, red chile, turmeric and ginger. If you can´t get the spice mix, use instead a spoonful of curry powder combined with ground cumin.

The trick is to cut the meat into quite small pieces, so that it cooks in the few minutes it takes to brown. Thin metal skewers work best and can be reused. If using bamboo skewers, soak them first in water and take care that they don´t come in contact with the heated griddle.

Makes 16 mini-kebabs.

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut in ¾ inch cubes
6 tablespoons chopped parsley
10 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup fresh lemon juice

Combine the cumin and curry powder. Place half the cubes of pork in a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle with half the parsley, garlic, salt, spice mixture and lemon juice. Add remaining pork, then parsley, garlic, salt, spice and lemon juice. Marinate, covered and refrigerated, for 24 hours. Turn the meat 2 or 3 times.

Thread 4 or 5 pieces of meat onto thin metal skewers. Cook them on a hot griddle, turning until browned on all sides, 7 to 8 minutes.