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Pisto manchego

Name: Pisto manchego
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 105 min
Total time: 125 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 piece ripe tomatoes; 2 clove garlic, finely chopped; 250 g onion, finely chopped; 200 g green pepper, in small even pieces; 200 g red pepper, in small even pieces; 300 g courgette, in small even pieces; 90 ml extra-virgin olive oil (a generous amount); salt and freshly ground black pepper

pisto manchego

Onion, garlic, green and red peppers, courgette and peeled tomato cooked very slowly in plenty of olive oil until they melt into a thick, juicy stew. The summer vegetable dish of La Mancha, here in Carmen Tía Alia's version for Directo al Paladar, often served with a fried egg.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 20 min
Cooking: 1 h 45
Total: 2 h 5
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Wide heavy casserole (a cazuela) with a lid
Saucepan of boiling water and a bowl of iced water for the tomatoes

Servings4

Ingredients

4 ripe tomatoes
2 clovesgarlic, finely chopped
250 gonion, finely chopped
200 ggreen pepper, in small even pieces
200 gred pepper, in small even pieces
300 gcourgette, in small even pieces
90 mlextra-virgin olive oil (a generous amount)The source says 'a generous quantity'; 90 ml is our estimate.
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Shopping list

Method

Bring water to the boil. Remove the hard core of the tomatoes, cut a cross in the base, plunge them into the boiling water for 15–20 seconds and then into iced water. Peel and crush them.
Chop the garlic and onion finely. Cut the peppers and courgette into small pieces of the same size and keep each vegetable separate.
Why They go into the pot at different times; equal pieces cook evenly.
Heat a generous amount of olive oil in the casserole and soften the garlic and onion over a low heat for 15 minutes.
Timer · 15 min15:00
Add the peppers and soften them for 15 minutes more.
Timer · 15 min15:00
Add the courgette and the crushed tomato, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook gently for at least an hour and a half.
Why Long, slow cooking is what turns separate vegetables into pisto: they soften and blend without frying.
Timer · 1 h 3090:00
Uncover, raise the heat a little and cook for about 15 minutes more, until the water from the tomato has evaporated. The pisto should be juicy but with no loose liquid, everything well blended. Serve at once.
Timer · 15 min15:00

To drink & serve with

Editorial suggestion: with a fried egg and crusty bread, or with fried potatoes.

Substitutions

A quicker version → Spain's official tourism site gives a version cooked in about 30 minutes in total, with a teaspoon of sugar to soften the tomato's acidity.
Richer version → Fry 100 g diced serrano ham before the onion (Spain.info), or serve topped with fried eggs.

Common mistakes

Cooking on a high heat: the vegetables fry and brown instead of melting.
Serving it watery: reduce uncovered at the end until no loose liquid remains.

Storage & reheating

Keeps well. Refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 2 days; reheat until steaming hot. Many cooks find it better the next day.

Safety

Contains none of the 14 major allergens as written (check any ham you add).

Allergens

None

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Dietary

vegan

A summer stew of La Mancha

Pisto manchego is the vegetable stew of La Mancha, in Castile, made when gardens are full of peppers, courgettes and tomatoes. Carmen Tía Alia's recipe for Directo al Paladar presents it as a traditional way to make the most of the summer harvest, and keeps it vegetarian. Turespaña's official recipe adds diced serrano ham and a little sugar and serves the pisto with eggs; ham, eggs or potatoes are common additions.

It is the Spanish cousin of ratatouille, but the vegetables are cut smaller and cooked together until they lose their shape.

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Hours, not minutes

Each vegetable goes in at its own time: onion and garlic first for 15 minutes, peppers for another 15, then courgette and peeled crushed tomato. The covered pot then cooks gently for at least an hour and a half. The last 15 minutes are uncovered, to boil off the tomato's water, so the pisto ends up juicy and soft but not wet.

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How it connects

Place

origin La Mancha In preparation

Recipe

similar Ratatouille