Tapas no.3: Pinchos from Movida Rustica

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

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.

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Zapecena Riba, hrvatski for baked fish

I had originally intended to spend this week celebrating the last of the summer sun by recreating all my favourite seafood dishes from my week in Croatia. However, there was a slight flaw in this plan: seafood, or lack thereof.  

I work 9 to 5 and the only decent fishmonger in my corner of London is open 8.30 to 5, which doesn’t leave a very large window. So I have had to make do with Sainsbury’s, which means sacrificing not only on flavour and freshness, but also on range. I didn’t really expect to find octopus or scampi on the Sainsbury’s fish counter, but I thought mussels would at least be a safe bet. Well, apparently they are out of season at the moment, although I have read other sources that suggest otherwise. I hope to make it to the fishmongers this weekend, but in the meantime, rather than substitute ingredients for the dishes I had planned, I have decided instead to find some alternative Dalmatian recipes to suit what was on offer.

Of the various recipes I found online, this one was the most reminiscent of the food I experienced on the Dalmatian coast; fresh produce cooked simply with minimal seasoning so that the flavours speak for themselves.

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Chicken, chorizo and cannellini bean casserole

Here is another of my seasonally inappropriate recipes from the comfort food binge last weekend. The temperature has stayed on the cool side, so I’m guessing it won’t be long before everyone is starting to crave winter warmers.

This recipe was an experiment, so I have only made it once. It worked very well, but I feel the need to highlight that it has not been ‘tried and tested’ in the usual way. The combination and balance of ingredients was just right, so I wouldn’t change anything there, but I would be interested in trying out alternative cooking methods.

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