Majado Castellano-Andaluz

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.