Featured
Soul Warming Recipes!
Big Green Egg
Featured
Hot & Spicy!
K’s Choice
Peppery Chicken Curry
Fonq
FM
Moroccan-Style Pork Kabobs
And then it happened; I seriously craved pork. And kabobs, especially those with a warm, oriental flavor. Add some fruit and red onion, delicious.
You’d be hard-pressed to find pork in Moroccan cuisine, so obviously you can make this with lamb or chicken as well.
Pork, kinda like lamb, is irresistible when seeped in fragrant spices such as cinnamon, caraway and cardamom. Peaches aren’t in season, so I just opened up a can. Not ideal, I know, but it keeps the cravings in check and it turned out great!
We fired up the pit—I love to BBQ during winter, but you can use a stove top grill as well—and I created this powerful marinade. I toned it all down a little by serving the kabobs with a simple, fresh yoghurt sauce.
These kabobs will turn your cold winter evening into a warm, fuzzy night!
Kabobs:
1 pound pork tenderloin
1 large red onion
large can half peaches
Moroccan Marinade:
zest of 1 small lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp chili flakes (or less)
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 large garlic clove
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp sweet paprika powder
2/3 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp brown sugar
5 tbsp olive oil
Sauce:
1 1/2 cup yoghurt
1 spring onion
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil (I used chili & garlic oil)
salt & pepper
lots of fresh mint
Directions:
Okay then. Let’s get this thing started.
Grate your garlic on a fancy red grater. Oh come on, admit it looks cheerful!
Do the same with the lemon (Don’t grate the white pithy stuff. It’s bitter) and squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon.
Serious storyboard alert.
Combine all spices listed under “Moroccan Marinade“.
Pour in the oil.
Ran out of brown sugar, used light brown instead. Sweet is sweet, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
This is a crazy good marinade. So fragrant and fresh at the same time. You’ll love it.
Cube the pork tenderloin. I like big chunks, but you can make them smaller as well.
Add the marinade, stir well, cover with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 2 hours.
Finely mince the mint and spring onion.
Squeeze in a little lime juice and add some kosher salt (1/4 to max 1/2 tsp) and lots of freshly cracked black pepper.
For extra flavor and pizzazz I poured in some chili and garlic oil. Regular or extra-virgin olive oil works just as well.
Pour in the yoghurt. Don’t use the low-fat stuff; it’s too runny. You can use Greek yoghurt as well.
Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and let the flavors mingle for some time. Also, if you’ll be using wooden skewers this would be your cue to soak them for at least 30 minutes. They will float when you soak them in a shallow dish, so just put them in a bottle or large measuring cup.
Peel and cut the onion in four. Pull the layers apart.
These were big half peaches in syrup, so I rinsed them first. I cut each half in 4 parts.
The marinade will have colored and flavored the pork like you wouldn’t believe.
Alternately thread pork, red onion and peach.
I ended up with 8 skewers, 2 for each person.
We got the Big Green Egg stable at 400F˚ (200C˚) in the middle of a storm, I kid you not. We’re hardcore.
Grill the kabobs for 10 to 12 minutes (flip them once), until the pork is ever so slightly pink in the center.
Drizzle the yoghurt & mint sauce all over them and revel in their beauty.
| Moroccan-Style Pork Kabobs | |||||||||
| Ingredients |
1 pound pork tenderloin 1 large red onion large can half peaches Moroccan Marinade: zest of 1 small lemon juice of 1/2 a lemon 1/2 tsp chili flakes (or less) 1 tsp ground coriander seeds 1 large garlic clove 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 2/3 tsp ground cardamom 1 tsp sweet paprika powder 1 tsp brown sugar 2/3 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 5 tbsp olive oil Sauce: 1 1/2 cup yoghurt 1 spring onion 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tsp olive oil (I used chili & garlic oil) salt & pepper lots of fresh mint Optional: 2 tbsp sweet mango chutney Directions |
|
Grate the garlic and lemon zest. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon in there as well. Combine all spices listed under “Moroccan Marinade”, and pour in the oil. Stir in the brown sugar. Cube the pork tenderloin, add the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 2 hours. Finely mince the mint and spring onion. Squeeze in a little lime juice and add some kosher salt (1/4 to max 1/2 tsp) and lots of freshly cracked black pepper and pour in the oil. Add the yoghurt (No low-fat yoghurt or use Green yoghurt), stir well and taste to check the seasoning. Cover with plastic wrap and let the flavors mingle for some time. Also, if you’ll be using wooden skewers this would be your cue to soak them for at least 30 minutes. Peel and cut the onion in four. Pull the layers apart. Rinse the peaches and cut each half in 4 parts. Grab the skewers and alternately thread pork, red onion and peach. We got the Big Green Egg stable at 400F˚ (200C˚). Grill the kabobs for 10 to 12 minutes (flip them once), until the pork is ever so slightly pink in the center. Serve with the yoghurt & mint sauce. Meal type: |
dinner, pork, Big Green Egg |
Servings: |
4 |
Copyright: |
© kayotickitchen.com |
|
24 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
that looks absolutely delicious Kay!
Beautiful pictures, too. You’re my new Kitchen Legend.
Definately going to make those soon! I’ll let you know!
Cheers,
DaCoffeeMan!
That looks really good. I think I may make that with some pineapple.
Didn’t even think about pineapple! I bet that will be fantastic, too!
I want to stick those down my throat like a circus sword dude.
You always make me laugh so hard, Bev :)
This looks fantastic, Kay! One question… in your photos you show adding brown sugar to the marinade, but I don’t see it listed in the ingredients. A tsp of brown sugar? Thanks for sharing!!
Glad you caught that. Added it!
Yup, it’s a tsp brown sugar, thought if you like your marinade sweeter, you can also use a tbsp.
Oooh, I’m loving this recipe as a potential item at our next dinner party . . .
Not many meat recipes make me drool ;-) — this looks fantastic. I love the combo (and with pineapple too!) — and the sauce! There is no way I can get our grill going – it is finally winterish, but will make as soon as the weather cooperates. Go big green egg!!
Oh, and I appreciate your mentioning leaving the pork just a wee pink – in the U.S., I think most have been taught to almost over-cook it.
:) ek
Kay, these look so good – I can hardly wait for the 6 inches of snow on top of my grill to melt, and fire it up to try this recipe.
By the way, have you been reading Mark Bittman’s columns in the NY Times about food in the Netherlands? You had written me that there aren’t really any Dutch cookbooks, but it sounds like your fellow citizens may change that soon. I hope to sample of the restaurants he mentions after I graduate in 2014, and do a “European Grand Tour” – very Edith Wharton!
Oh, and I tried making the Cradle Shaking bread from Twente – so delicious. Cardamom, currants – makes the toast of my dreams, too.
Keep up the great recipes!
No, I haven’t… can’t get the NY times here! Fill me in, please :)
Try online or Google Bittman. I read it online. Let me know – or I can try sending you the link.
Best–
Maureen
Dear Kay–
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/travel/amsterdam-way-beyond-just-herring.html?scp=2&sq=netherlands%20bittman&st=cse
Here’s the link to one of his articles, and I know there was one on the 9th, too. Enjoy!
Maureen
here you go kay http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/travel/amsterdam-way-beyond-just-herring.html?ref=markbittman
Just found your blog – dying to move to the Netherlands. Love your photos…
This recipe looks great, my kids love anything with pork and yogurt. Weird, right?
sounds very yummy! although i doube Morocco people being Muslims eat much pork ;)
Busted! You didn’t read the intro, did you? :)
In the ingredients it says kosher salt, never heard of that, what is it?
Hi Kay! We had these pork-kabobs tonight for dinner, and they were fantastic!! I don’t have a winter-grill so we made due with the oven (and broiler for a little bit of color), and they were excellent. They’ll be even better this summer on the bbq ;-) I’m not used to Moroccan food, and it was a flavor explosion, very nice. Thanks for sharing!
These were DELICIOUS!! The marinade was wonderful!! My whole family enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
I made these tonight and they were great! The flavour mix between the red onion, peach and pork was incredible. I used pork sirloin instend of tenderloin but am not much up with cuts of meat – is there much of a difference?
Yo Kay.. jus moi. Who luves yeah eh.. :>)
I bought some (2) lamb shanks so came here to see what you did with them. Nuttin eh.
I’ve got folks telling me all kinds of things to do with them then though.. GAH!
WHAT the F do they know eh.. I’ll ask my cookin Queen Kay she knows everything.
1. Have you ever made em
2. If not, can you recommend a recipe you have tried that someone else has cooked
3. Or throw a link at me you would try yer self
I’m likin this one.. http://www.dailyunadventuresincooking.com/2010/05/lamb-shanks-with-red-wine-recipe.html/
If you scroll to the bottom you’ll see one done in white wine that looks good also.
These are to be cooked two days from now so we have time to buy things you might suggest in your
recipe..
Thanks in advance luv.. Dave
The guys don’t like lamb here, so I rarely make it. I’ve had these and they were amazing. I did throw in a few finely minced tomatoes, though.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/lamb-recipes/incredible-baked-lamb-shanks
Thanks Kay.. I have the Jamie book with this in one it
and thought it was a bit off the traditional recipes
I have been seeing out there but after re-reading it now it is simple (like me)
so I’ll give it a whiz as Jamie sayz.
Funny we both agree about the tomatoes
but neither recipe we choose calls for them.. ahh well next time.. :>)
I’ll tip a few to you as always.
Ciao fer now,
Dave
PS Sold my house and have a free PEACE sign to give away.. any ideas?