After such a long, cool and wet Spring we are finally having sunny weather in Ireland and so we’re cooking anything over fire … on sticks … and lots of salads. Long may it last!
Wine Suggestion: If you’re having this as a starter we’d highly recommend a good, dry Oloroso like the Bodegas Hidalgo Oloroso Faraon which is nutty, smokey, round and honeyed on the nose, but with an enveloping roundness and richness on the palet, despite being bone dry. Very savoury and great with food.
Pork and Asparagus Kebabs – serves 4
- 500g pork fillet, cut across the grain into ½ cm thick slices
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1-2 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 250g asparagus, woody ends snapped off and cut into thirds (don’t buy the very skinny stuff for this as it will be difficult to thread onto the skewers)
- 1 bunch of scallions, sliced into thirds
Put the pork into a large bowl, then add the garlic, smoked paprika, olive oil and sherry vinegar, then stir well to coat. Cover and put into the fridge for an hour or two, then stir in the asparagus and scallions to coat in the marinade.
Thread pieces of pork, aspargus and scallion onto skewers.
Prepare your barbecue for direct cooking, then place the skewers directly over the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, turning a couple of times to ensure they brown and cook through.
(Original recipe from Foolproof BBQ by Genevieve Taylor, Hardie Grant: Quadrille, 2021.)