Asadillo Manchego
“Charred red bell pepper salad with garlic, cumin, olive oil, and sherry vinegar — peeled, torn into ribbons, served chilled.”
Where it comes from
Asadillo (from asar, to roast) is the summer companion to pisto in Castilla-La Mancha — same harvest of red peppers, but here the pepper is the only star. Roasted-pepper salads run across the western Mediterranean, but the Manchegan version is defined by cumin, a Moorish-era inheritance, and sherry vinegar from Andalusia. Documented in Manchegan home-cooking notebooks since the 19th century, eaten cold during the brutal interior summers when nobody wants a hot dish.
On the plate
Cool, slick ribbons of pepper that almost dissolve on the tongue — sweet from concentrated sugar, smoky from real char, sharp at the back from sherry vinegar. The cumin lands as a savoury echo, not a spice hit. Eaten cold on a hot Manchego summer day with a piece of crusty bread to mop the orange-red oil. If your asadillo is pale or watery, the peppers were under-roasted or rinsed.
How it works
The smoky depth comes from blackening the pepper skin, not just softening the flesh — the Maillard char on the skin transfers flavour through during the steam-rest. Sherry vinegar (not red wine vinegar) is non-negotiable: its oxidative complexity matches the smoke. And the chill is mechanical, not just preference — cold tightens the pepper texture and lets the cumin oils settle into the dressing instead of evaporating.
La Mancha summer cousin to pisto, eaten cold during the brutal interior heat. The cumin is a Moorish-era inheritance; sherry vinegar from Andalusia is non-negotiable — its oxidative complexity matches the char in a way red wine vinegar can't.
Variations
Murcian asadillo adds tuna and hard-boiled egg; Riojan piperrada-style version with garlic confit; Andalusian ensaladilla de pimientos asados runs sweeter; Aragonese version uses ñoras instead of fresh peppers.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
5 steps · Show ↓20 min active · 70 min waiting
How it's made
5 steps · Show ↓- 140 min
Heat oven to 220°C. Place 6 large red bell peppers on a foil-lined tray. Roast 35-40 minutes, turning twice, until skins are blackened and blistered all over.
Watch outDon't stop early — under-charred peppers won't peel and the smoky depth comes from real burn.
- 220 min
Transfer hot peppers to a covered bowl. Steam 20 minutes — the trapped vapour loosens skins. Reserve any juice that pools.
Watch outSave the smoky pepper juice — it's half the dressing.
- 310 min
Peel skins; pull out stems and seeds with your fingers (no rinsing — water washes flavour off). Tear flesh into 1cm-wide ribbons.
Watch outResist the tap — rinsed asadillo tastes of nothing.
- 45 min
Whisk 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp sherry vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt with the reserved pepper juice. Toss with the pepper ribbons.
- 560 min
Refrigerate at least 1 hour — flavour deepens cold. Serve straight from the fridge with bread, or as a tapa alongside grilled meat or salt cod.
