"Pinchos Morunos"

Why is the title in quotation marks? I had intended to attempt to recreate the pinchos morunos we ate in Baltimore last week. Even though I have lived in Spain, I had never heard of pinchos morunos before our meal at Tapas Teatro last week. Pinchos morunos means Moorish thorns in Spanish. However, J later told me that it wasn't as good when he ordered a second plate of them. Nonetheless, I had already planned this weeks meals and that was what we were going to have. They would have been more flavorful, had I marinated over night instead of the four hours when I came home. They also would have tasted better using a grill, as opposed to the broiler, but it's quite cold and dark at night and I'm not going out there by myself. All in all, I thought this meal was great.

I didn't measure and I'm not sure I can remember everything I did but here's a good try:

1. Create the spice mixture: I ground all my spices in my mortar and pestle, because I only had whole coriander seeds. In addition I added turmeric, salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, a clove of garlic, paprika and oregano. I mixed the spices with olive oil and I put my large chunks of pork tenderloin in a Tupperware container with the marinade and a few tablespoons of freshly chopped cilantro and lemon juice. I shook the container to mix and I chilled for 4 hours.
2. I used fat free Greek yogurt, feta, cilantro, and some ras el hanout spice mixture (maybe a pinch for a 1/4 of a cup) and combined them to make something similar to a raita/tzatziki for my pita.
3. I baked the pita in the oven (brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt) for about 5 minutes until crisp like chips.
4. I broiled the meat on high, turning once for maybe 15 min total (that may be an over estimate). Once it was done I sprinkled it with more fresh cilantro. While the meat etc. was cooking I cooked 1/3 of a red onion and a whole green pepper sliced on in a saute pan with a little olive oil and a clove of garlic. I served everything with whole wheat couscous.

It was delicious. I know it wasn't any particular authentic cuisine but I don't care.