Like Castile the cuisine of this area covers many provinces, including Toledo, Albacete, Ciudad Real and,
with certain peculiarities of their own, Madrid, Guadalajara and Cuenca. It is a heavy cuisine of long standing.
The cuisine of La Mancha has managed to preserve its character and traditions even today, and to modern tastes it offers very popular and deeply-rooted
stews and recipes, which is the case with most of the famous dishes of the Spanish cuisine.
But at the beginning of our visit to La Mancha, there are los gazpachos, which are also found
in other parts of the country, such as Estremadura, Alicante, Murcia and Teruel, but we have reserved
them for this chapter since in La Mancha they have their origin, in the Province of Albacete,
to be more exact, where they were made first and are still prepared best.
Los gazpachos of La Mancha are a winter dish of huge proportions. Their contents may be traced to the shepherds, but are far from mean. They are not found
easily in any restaurant along the way, but only in those that are run with care. Whatever the case, it is not a dish found on the menu at any time of the year.
Like all the others of La Mancha, it is a recipe of old which is already mentioned with the name galianos in Don Quixote. Its preparation is long and
time-consuming, almost a rite. First a large flat piece of unleavened dough must be prepared.
It is now sold in Madrid under the name of torta de Ceceño from
La Roda. The dough is cooked between two sources of heat until it reaches the size of between half a metre and a metre and a half, depending on the occasion, and remains as
thin as the edge of a coin without breaking. Pepper and tomato, rabbit, hare, pigeon, turtle dove, chicken or whatever other food at hand is cooked separately.
When they are done, small pieces of the dough are added until the gravy is soaked up. The outcome is served on top of an unbroken piece of dough while the meat as such is
put aside and eaten separately. The name galianos or gazpachos
is exclusively used for the pieces of dough soaked in gravy and the shreds of meat from the birds. This is a tasty and very refined dish.
Much more widespread and endlessly imitated is el pisto manchego, which has reached national importance and is very much in vogue.. There are many varieties, all of
Arab origin, but the true pisto of La Mancha is only made with red and green peppers, tomatoes
and a small amount of squash. Sometimes onion, ham, beaten egg or marinaded tuna are added, but these formulas are capricious.
The cold broth with black olives is called el moje manchego which must not be mistaken for el mojete, which consists of potatoes sautéed with garlic, paprika,
tomato and bay leaf, to which by way of compassion a poached egg is added.
Other common dishes of La Mancha in the typical restaurants are el asadillo, red peppers cut in pieces, roasted and with a dressing of garlic, tomato and oil, el salpicón, minced veal with onion, tomato,
garlic, parsley and pepper, the popular ajo arriero and el tiznao, which is also made with clean
shreds of grilled cod cooked in a clay dish with the everpresent pepper, tomato, onion and garlic.
The popular garlic soups with or without cumin and paprika are also made everywhere and will be discussed a little further on. Las migas del pastor are not much different from the ones in other places.
They are called canas if soaked in milk or mulatas if soaked in chocolate.
What's more, the people of La Mancha are very fond of marinaded food, ie, meat as well as fish (chicken, partridge, trout, tuna), but outstanding is the pickled aubergine which is prepared in Almagro, following an old
Arab formula, and which can be found everywhere in central Spain at fairs and taverns.
Then there are some dishes which are exclusive to one province, like stuffed partridge, el morteruelo and el tojunto (see below).
In Toledo, the province where the red-legged partridge breeds and has become a national and international game species,
the bird is stewed with a touch of genius and great simplicity, using bay leaf, pepper and garlic. El morteruelo is an impressively solid dish. It is a traditional
recipe of the Province of Cuenca and is rather rich and tasty with pork liver, giblets,
game and a variety of spices. It is reminiscent of paté because it looks solid and creamy.
Ciudad Real, finally, contributes a very unusual dish to the cuisine of La Mancha. It is called tojunto, which is short for todo junto (everything together) and
consists of cooking mountain rabbit, garlic, onion, green pepper and a fair amount of olive oil together until everything is done. This dish is found in every province of La Mancha.
El tocrudo (everything raw) is similar but in the shape of a salad. Excellent kid goat
is prepared in the Province of Guadalajara. It is simply roasted with thyme and mountain herbs or prepared with garlic.
On a visit to La Mancha, the different types of cheese fill an important chapter. They are simply called manchegos (ie, La Mancha cheese), are made with
sheep's milk and come in two versions: cured and creamy. It is perhaps the most well-known Spanish cheese and can be preserved in a very unusual fashion, ie, it is put in a
receptacle full of oil and in this way the cheese will last for up to two years in good condition, apart from acquiring a special and pleasant flavour. The sausage products of this area are also of good quality .
As for sweets, mantecados, oily buns (bollos de aceite) and fried biscuits dipped in honey are plentiful. Especially outstanding are the
so-called bizcochá manchega, which is a cake soaked in milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, and
los bizcochos borrachos (a cake soaked in liqueur). But there is above all the marzipan of Arab origin, made with sugar and almonds.
With regard to wine, La Mancha produces huge quantities of excellent quality. Its Appellation d'Origine is Valdepeñas which is drunk in the
course of a chateo (which is a mild version of pub-crawling to the tune of a glass
of wine or two in each bar) and is supplied to the wine bars of Madrid as well as to all those in the area.
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