One dish closer - One dish closer

I lived in Seville for three months in 2008 and Granada for 3 months in 2002. One of my favourite of the tapas I ate while I was there were the adobos de pollo or "pinchos". Usually made with chicken, these salty, spicy skewers were served all throughout Andalucia with a piece of crusty bread to mop up the juices. I was over the moon when I found the recipe in Movida Rustica.

Now I have to admit that this recipe does not produce results as good as some I have tried in Andalucia, but I think that is because I love the ones I am used to and this is different. If you have ever tried to replicate a favourite dish you will know what I mean. I will try to play around with this recipe next time to get it closer to what I know, but in the meantime this is a very nice, if not quite right, rendition.

The recipe below makes 12 tapas or 6 raciones (larger portions). If you are only cooking for 4-6 people and serving the pinchos as part of a selection of tapas, I would recommend halving the recipe.

Ingredients

1kg (2lb 4 oz) skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) chunks
3 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
125ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) extra virgin olive oil

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Thread the chicken meat onto 12 metal skewers. Heat a charcoal grill or barbecue flat plate to high. Cook the chicken skewers for 5 minutes, or until cooked through, turning regularly. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.

Update on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 11:10AM by

Vix

I have since made these pinchos again changing the recipe to reflect the ones you get in most tapas bars in Andalucia. I cut out the herbs - I have never seen any herbs on these before. I also added tumeric, as they were usually a lot more yellow in colour and I think that most tapas restaurants are unlikely to use saffron because it is expensive and this is probably what they use as a substitute. Nonetheless, I left the saffron in as it tastes good and I am sure that pinchos were originally made with it. I also seasoned them with a lot more salt than the first time I made them; I have never needed to add salt to the pinchos I have ordered in Spain and if I don't have to add salt that means there is a lot of it. I am a bit of a fiend (understatement).

My new ingredient list is as follows:

1kg (2lb 4 oz) skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) chunks
3 tablespoons smoked sweet paprika
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground
1 tablespoon tumeric
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoon fine sea salt, or to taste
125ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) extra virgin olive oil

The method is the same.