Adobo Pork Skewers with Mojo Potatoes

Vogue Entertaining and Travel's March 2009 issue featured Brisbane cantina, pizzeria and tapas bar Gusto Da Gianni, owned by Italian, Walter Franchini and run by Spanish, Executive Chef Javier Codna, where this recipe has been taken from.

The Spanish-Italian partnership has led to a menu where pasta and pizza is an everyday affair. Spanish food they say is similar to Italian in many ways, and is gaining popularity in Australia, as well as tapas fitting in well with the ‘casual, sociable way of eating’ their wish to promote in their eatery.

The potatoes herbed with parsley, green capsicum and cumin are rather subtle on their own, but perfect paired with the pork skewers, balancing the dominant flavours of the adobo seasoning.

Ingredients

Pork Skewers: 1 ½ tblsp Adobo Seasoning*; 2 dried bay leaves, crumbled; 2 cloves garlic, halved; 60 ml olive oil; 2 x 400g pork loins, each cut into 20x30 cm pieces; 8 bamboo skewers

* My friend Cari left me some adobo seasoning before she left back to the US. If you cannot find it at your local supermarket or specialist store, you can make your own adobo seasoning quite simply: 1 ½ tsp each ground cumin, dried oregano, dried thyme, black peppercorns and sweet smoked Spanish paprika.

Mojo Potatoes: 1 green capsicum, roughly chopped; 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked; 1 birds eye chilli, halved with seeds; 2 tsp ground cumin; 60 ml olive oil; 1 clove garlic, crushed; 800 g Southern Gold/ King Edward/ Kipfler Potatoes


Method: Combine adobo, garlic, olive oil and 2 tsp sea salt to a paste. Thread pieces of pork onto a skewers, place in a flat dish, then rub all over with adobo marinade and refrigerate for 3 hours.

For the potatoes: process all the ingredients except the potatoes in a food processor until it becomes a puree. Cook the potatoes in their skins in boiling salted water until tender. Cool slightly, then peel and chop. Combine warm potatoes and capsicum mixture in a bowl, crushing potatoes slightly.

Pre-heat a barbeque of chargrill pan to medium-high, then cook pork skewers for 2 ½ minutes each side, or until cooked. Serve pork skewers on a bed of mojo potatoes.