Tapas

Spicy Pork Skewers with Romesco Sauce

by wcadmin

Spicy Pork Skewers with Romesco Sauce

These pork skewers are a nice way to portion out tapas.  The romesco sauce is a rustic sauce that gives a wonderful dimension of taste to the pork skewers you’ll be making.

Preparing the Pork

1 pound (or more) of pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc
3 tablespoons olive oil
10 bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes
 

Romesco Sauce

1 tomato seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves
½ cup almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 slice of homemade bread cut into cubes (to fit into the food processor)
1 12-oz jar of roasted peppers (piquillo if you can get them), drained and chopped (goes into the food processor later)
¼ cup red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
¼ cup olive oil
 

Prepare the Pork and Marinade

  • Cut the tenderloin in half and then cut strips along the length.  Cut the strips thick enough to thread onto a skewer. 
  • For the marinade, combine the paprika, cumin, cinnamon oregano, wine and olive oil in a medium mixing bowl. 
  • Whisk together and then add the pork to the bowl and work into the marinade.  Completely coat the pork.  Cover and put n the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Prepare the Romesco Sauce

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Place tomato and garlic onto a roasting pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. 
  • Toss to coat, and transfer to the oven to roast until slightly browned (about 10 minutes).
  • This sauce will be made in a food processor, so get the bowl set with the chopping blade. 
  • Add almonds and bread to the processor and process until fine. 
  • Add the roasted tomatoes, garlic, vinegar and peppers.  Process until it becomes a puree.
  • Periodically scrape-down the sides.
  • While the processor is running, add 1/4 olive oil in a slow stream.
  • Transfer to a bowl or pan to warm (you don’t want to cook this, just  have it warmed for serving.  You could use a slow cooker or crock pot on low for serving).

Finishing the Pork Skewers

  • Thread the pork onto the skewers.  Think one skewer per appetizer, so you can spread these out.
  • If you can, grill these on a fire or use a broiler to get them finished and nicely browned.
  • If broiling, place these about 6″ from the broiler on high, flipping them 2-3 minutes per side.

Serving

  • Place skewers on a warming plate.
  • Serve with romesco sauce spooned over the skewer.
Image by Husky Kuma from Pixabay