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Asadillo Manchego
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Asadillo Manchego is La Mancha's roasted pepper salad: red peppers, tomato, olive oil, garlic, and cumin, pounded plainly and served with egg, warm or cold.
Salads
Spanish
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
50 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Asadillo Manchego belongs to La Mancha, and the cumin tells you where you are. Red peppers are roasted until the skins blacken, tomatoes are cooked down until their water leaves, and both are dressed with garlic, cumin, salt, and good olive oil. It is not escalivada, Catalonia's roasted vegetables, and it is not a tomato salad. This one is Manchego, tal como se hace allí.
The method that decides it is the peeling and the draining. Peel the peppers warm, while the skins still slip away, then let the strips rest so their sweet juice gathers underneath. Cook the tomato until it is thick, not wet. If you leave everything watery, the garlic and cumin float about doing nothing. If you get the vegetables concentrated, the dressing holds to them and the dish tastes deep for such plain work.
No hace falta haber pisado España. If you are far from La Mancha, use heavy red bell peppers and ripe tomatoes when the market gives them to you. Out of season, use good jarred roasted red peppers and canned whole tomatoes, drained and cooked down hard; the dish will lose the edge of fresh char, but the cumin and oil still carry it home. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Asadillo is part of the home cooking of Castilla-La Mancha, especially the flat, dry country where peppers, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and cumin sit naturally in the same pantry. The name comes from asar, to roast, and the dish belongs to the habit of roasting summer vegetables, preserving their sweetness with oil, and serving them later when the day's work has no patience for fuss. Hard-boiled egg is a common finish, turning the peppers into a fuller plate without making it heavy.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
red bell peppers
Quantity
800g
about 4 large
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
500g
halved, or 400g canned whole peeled tomatoes, drained
large eggs
Quantity
2
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
peeled
ground cumin
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
60ml, plus 1 tablespoon for roasting
vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar) (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| red bell peppersabout 4 large | 800g |
| ripe tomatoeshalved, or 400g canned whole peeled tomatoes, drained | 500g |
| large eggs | 2 |
| garlicpeeled | 2 cloves |
| ground cumin | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| extra virgin olive oil | 60ml, plus 1 tablespoon for roasting |
| vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar) (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Rimmed baking tray
- •Box grater
- •Mortar and pestle
- •Small saucepan
Instructions
- 1
Roast the peppers
Heat the oven to 220C. Put the whole peppers on a tray, rub them with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once, until the skins blister and blacken in places and the flesh has slumped. Put them in a bowl, cover with a plate, and leave for 15 minutes. Peel them warm; cold pepper skin clings like it has a grievance.
Do not rinse the peppers under water. You wash away the roasted juice, and that juice is part of the dressing. - 2
Cook the tomato
While the peppers rest, grate the cut sides of the fresh tomatoes on a box grater and discard the skins. Put the pulp in a small pan with a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and no longer watery. If using canned tomatoes, crush them by hand and cook them the same way, a little longer if needed.
- 3
Boil the eggs
Put the eggs in a small pan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool under running water, peel, and cut into quarters or rough wedges. They should be firm and simple, nothing clever.
- 4
Pound the dressing
Pound the garlic, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mortar until you have a rough paste. Stir in the 60ml olive oil, and the sherry vinegar if you want that small lift. The cumin is not decoration here; it is the signature of the dish, so measure it. Pésalo, no lo adivines.
- 5
Tear and mix
Pull away the pepper stems, seeds, and skins, then tear the flesh into long strips. Keep any clean roasted juice from the bowl and discard only seeds and skin. Mix the pepper strips with the thick tomato and the pounded dressing. Taste for salt, then let it stand at least 20 minutes so the oil, garlic, cumin, and sweet peppers settle into one another.
- 6
Serve with egg
Spoon the asadillo into a shallow dish and lay the boiled egg over the top. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold from the fridge. It is good with bread, better after a little rest, and best when the peppers were worth roasting in the first place.
Chef Tips
- •Buy peppers that feel heavy for their size, with thick walls and glossy skins. Thin, tired peppers roast down to very little and taste flat.
- •If fresh tomatoes are poor, use canned whole peeled tomatoes and cook them down until thick. That is a better compromise than watery winter tomatoes.
- •Jarred roasted red peppers work when you have no choice. Drain them well, pat them dry, and know what changes: you get tenderness, but not the fresh roasted edge.
- •Make it a few hours ahead if you can. The cumin softens into the oil, the garlic loses its bite, and the peppers taste more like themselves.
Advance Preparation
- •Roast and peel the peppers up to 2 days ahead; keep them covered in their own strained juices in the refrigerator.
- •The finished asadillo keeps 3 days covered in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature and taste for salt before serving.
- •Boil the eggs the same day you serve if you want the cleanest flavour, though they can be cooked 1 day ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 210g)
Calories
250 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
340 mg
Total Carbohydrates
14 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
5 g
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