Chef Isabel
Aceitunas Aliñadas Andaluzas
Andalucía's green olives are cracked just enough to drink in garlic, cumin, oregano and sherry vinegar, then left two days until the brine turns fragrant and every bite carries the aliño.
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Majado Castellano-Andaluz
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Majado is Castile and Andalucía's mortar finish: garlic, bread and almonds fried separately with saffron, pounded warm, then loosened with broth to give an everyday stew body, fragrance and a deep golden sauce.
Sauces & Condiments
Spanish
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
Comfort Food
10 min
Active Time
20 min cook•30 min total
YieldAbout 220g, enough to thicken 1.25 to 1.5L of stew or 6 servings
Majado is Castile and Andalucía's mortar finish: golden garlic, day-old bread and almonds pounded with saffron, then stirred into a guiso, a stew, to give its cooking liquor body and a deep golden colour. What makes it a majado is not one fixed list of ingredients but the work of the mortar and the return to the pot. It isn't a table sauce. It belongs inside the stew, where the bread disappears and the almonds make the broth cling.
The frying decides it. Cook the almonds, garlic and bread separately over medium-low heat because each browns at its own pace. Pull each one at gold and nothing goes bitter. Pound them while they're still warm, then loosen the paste slowly with the stew's own broth. The Margin has only four words beside this one: gold, never dark brown. That warning earns its space.
If Marcona almonds are nowhere near you, use ordinary raw blanched almonds. They're a little less buttery, but they do the same honest work. If saffron is beyond reach, leave it out and accept a paler, plainer paste; turmeric changes the taste and has no business pretending. No mortar? A small processor will get supper made, though the paste comes finer and less nubbly. Stir it in for the last ten minutes and it will settle into the sauce. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Majado comes from majar, to crush, and across Castile and Andalucía the word has long named both the mortar work and the paste returned to a guiso or potaje. Day-old bread gave body without waste, while a small handful of almonds and a pinch of saffron spread costly flavour through the whole pot. The formula follows the dish: Seville's espinacas con garbanzos leans on fried bread, garlic, cumin and pimentón, while Castilian poultry guisos and pepitorias bring almonds and saffron forward.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
80ml
for frying
raw blanched almonds, preferably Marcona
Quantity
30g
garlic
Quantity
12g (3 medium cloves)
peeled and left whole
day-old white country bread
Quantity
40g
crust included, cut into 2cm cubes
saffron threads
Quantity
0.1g
fine sea salt
Quantity
3g
hot unsalted broth from the stew, or hot water
Quantity
100ml
divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| extra virgin olive oilfor frying | 80ml |
| raw blanched almonds, preferably Marcona | 30g |
| garlicpeeled and left whole | 12g (3 medium cloves) |
| day-old white country breadcrust included, cut into 2cm cubes | 40g |
| saffron threads | 0.1g |
| fine sea salt | 3g |
| hot unsalted broth from the stew, or hot waterdivided | 100ml |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy frying pan, 20 to 24cm
- •Ceramic or stone mortar, 14 to 16cm, with pestle
- •Slotted spoon
- •Small measuring jug
Instructions
- 1
Fry the almonds
Heat the olive oil in a small heavy frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the almonds and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until they are evenly pale gold and smell nutty. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and put them beside the mortar. Don't wait for dark brown edges; the almonds carry bitterness through the whole pot once they scorch.
- 2
Golden the garlic and bread
Add the whole garlic cloves to the same oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turning them, until soft and straw-gold. Remove them. Add the bread in a single layer and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning every piece, until crisp and deep gold on all sides. Lift it out before any edge blackens. Measure 20ml of the fragrant frying oil and reserve it for the paste; strain and save any oil left over for cooking.
The three ingredients go into the pan separately for a reason. Bread colours quickly, garlic follows, and almonds need steady turning. Fry them together and one burns while another stays pale. - 3
Pound the base
Put the salt and warm garlic in the mortar and pound until creamy. Add the saffron and almonds, then work them with firm circular strokes until the nuts resemble coarse meal with no obvious chunks. Add the fried bread in two batches and keep pounding until it forms a thick, cohesive paste. A few tiny almond grains are right; large pieces are not.
- 4
Loosen the paste
Work the reserved 20ml frying oil into the paste. Add 90ml of the hot broth in three 30ml additions, pounding after each one until fully absorbed. The majado should be smooth enough to pour slowly from a spoon but thick enough to leave ridges in the mortar. Add the liquid gradually; pour it in at once and the oil separates instead of settling into the paste.
- 5
Finish the stew
Stir the majado into a gently simmering stew 10 to 12 minutes before the stew is finished. Rinse the mortar with the remaining 10ml broth and add that too. Simmer uncovered, stirring from the bottom two or three times so the bread cannot catch. It is ready when no separate crumbs remain and the cooking liquor lightly coats the back of a spoon.
Chef Tips
- •This almond-and-saffron majado suits chickpea potajes, chicken guisos, green beans, artichokes and modest meat stews. Majado is a method, not one fixed paste, so its spices change with the regional dish it serves.
- •Use yesterday's close-textured country bread, pan candeal if you have it. A plain white country loaf is the sensible substitute abroad. Very airy bread drinks too much oil, while a strongly sour loaf leaves its acidity in the finished stew.
- •Marcona almonds are rounder and a little sweeter, but ordinary raw blanched almonds work well. If yours still have skins, blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute and slip the skins off; left on, they make the paste darker and faintly tannic.
- •Use real saffron threads and weigh them. Pésalo, no lo adivines. If saffron is too dear, omit it. The majado will still thicken the stew, but it will lose its honeyed aroma and golden colour.
- •Without a mortar, chop the fried ingredients first and pulse them in a small processor with the salt, saffron and reserved oil. Add the broth a spoonful at a time. The result will be finer and less textured, but it will do its work in the pot.
- •One full batch is right for roughly 1.25 to 1.5L of a fairly thin stew. For an already thick potaje, begin with half, simmer for 10 minutes, then judge the sauce before adding more.
Advance Preparation
- •The almonds, garlic and bread can be fried and pounded with the saffron, salt and reserved oil up to 24 hours ahead. Cool the paste promptly, cover it tightly and refrigerate; loosen it with hot broth only when the stew is ready.
- •For longer storage, freeze the unloosened paste in two portions for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and pound or stir it with hot broth before use.
- •A majado already loosened with broth keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator. Do not leave a garlic-and-oil paste at room temperature; refrigerate it within 2 hours and simmer it thoroughly in the finished dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 37g)
Calories
160 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
230 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
2 g
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