'Manchar' is the Spanish for 'to stain'. Which is really fitting for this dish, a perfect way to use up any leftover bits of meat (or firm fish) and the ever-softening veg in the back of the drawer or cupboard by adding a few storecupboard regulars - I've ruined two t-shirts making this whilst tired and hungry late at night. As far as I know, and I've not even Googled it, there isn't a Spanish 'a la Mancha' dish - good, because this doesn't even have Spanish pretensions, let alone influences. You could try putting everything in an ovenproof pot and giving it hours at a low temperature to save clothes from irreparable tomato damage and, if using stewing cuts of meat, save some money at the same time. This makes enough for two, but scale up if you want. Fridge what's left if you're eating solo. It's the kind of one pot comfort that nourishes the lonely, the budgeting or the plain knackered.
NB: you can replace the chopped tomato with fresh tomatoes, in which case a splash of wine (or cider, with chorizo) works well. I've used this to finish the leftovers of roast chicken with ratatouille, once added that half-tub of baba ganoush that was in the fridge, and reduced it down so it became as spoonable as a chilli, then filled toasted rolls with it.
- about 100g meat each. I like pork shoulder steak, but go for diced chicken thigh, a U-bend of chorizo, leftover roast...
- 2 heaped tbsp smoked paprika
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- splash of sherry vinegar (if you've got it)
- 1 medium onion each, or about 4/5 shallots, halved
- 3/4 garlic cloves
- 400g tin chopped tomato
- half a tomato tin of stock
- 1 tbsp ajvar (Balkan pepper paste. Sub with grilled peppers in oil if needed, but ajvar is lovely everywhere. Get some.
- a lot of chopped parsley and lemon zest (not essential, but it makes a difference
- I like eating this with some boiled rice or baked potato. Whatever you feel like, it'll probably take longer than making this so get water boiling/oven heating etc.
- Cut the meat (if raw) into big bites. The kind that you half-think about cutting but eventually stab with a fork and go for it. It's the spirit of this dish. If you're using leftover meat, don't shred it too finely otherwise it becomes a limp, straggly bundle in the pan.
- Smash the garlic with the flat of a knife, then run the blade through it a few times. It doesn't have to be tiny. Peel and cut each onion vertically into quarters, then half each of those the other way.
- Heat a large saucepan or sauté pan and add the olive oil and paprika. Once hot, add the meat and stir it to coat everything.
- Cook the meat until it begins to brown. Add the honey, stir and leave until the glaze almost forms a crust.
- Pour in sherry vinegar whilst stirring hard and trying not to splash deep red cooking juice everywhere. Stop pouring when the bottom of the pan is bubbling everywhere and syrupy.
- Add onion, garlic, tomatoes and ajvar. Half-fill the tomato tin with stock to swill it out.
- Leave bubbling on a high heat to reduce down whilst your sides finish cooking. It can be left fairly liquid, in which case you might want to add more honey against the tomato - this is great in a bowl with some garlic bread. Otherwise, reduce it to something nearer a stew and use to top rice, baked potato, fill frozen yorkshires or tortillas, or scoop up with crisp toasted flatbreads. It's also great cold in a wrap as 'kebab place closed early' drunk food.
- Stir lemon zest and parsley through to taste, and garnish however you want: drizzled with olive oil, topped with guac and hot sauce, mixed through roasted vegetables or left in the pan and taken to the table.
NB: you can replace the chopped tomato with fresh tomatoes, in which case a splash of wine (or cider, with chorizo) works well. I've used this to finish the leftovers of roast chicken with ratatouille, once added that half-tub of baba ganoush that was in the fridge, and reduced it down so it became as spoonable as a chilli, then filled toasted rolls with it.