Pisto Manchego (Spanish Ratatouille-Style Vegetable Stew)

About This Recipe

Pisto manchego comes from La Mancha in central Spain, a rustic vegetable stew built from whatever the garden provides — zucchini, peppers, onion and tomato — cooked down slowly in olive oil until soft and deeply savory. Unlike a quick saute, pisto depends on patience: each vegetable is added in stages and cooked until it nearly melts into the mix, resulting in a thick, jammy stew rather than distinct pieces of vegetable in a light sauce. Often served with a fried egg on top and crusty bread on the side, pisto works as a light dinner on its own or as an accompaniment to grilled meat, and it's just as good, if not better, the next day.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1/4 cupolive oil
• 1onion(diced)
• 2green bell peppers(diced)
• 1red bell pepper(diced)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 3zucchini(diced)
• 4tomatoes(diced, or 1 can crushed tomatoes)
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspsugar
• 4eggs(for serving, fried)

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the base

   Heat olive oil in a wide pan and cook onion and peppers over medium heat until softened, about 12 minutes.

2. 2

   Add garlic

   Add garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant.

3. 3

   Add zucchini

   Stir in zucchini and cook 10 minutes until it begins to soften.

4. 4

   Add tomato

   Stir in tomatoes, salt and sugar, then simmer uncovered 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and jammy.

   Cook it down slowly rather than rushing — the vegetables should soften into a cohesive stew, not stay crisp.

5. 5

   Fry the eggs

   Fry eggs sunny-side up while the pisto finishes cooking.

6. 6

   Serve

   Serve the pisto hot topped with a fried egg and bread on the side.

Variations

• •

  Add diced eggplant along with the zucchini for a version closer to French ratatouille.

• •

  Pisto can be canned or jarred and kept as a pantry staple, common in Spanish households.

• •

  Serve it as a side to grilled chicken or fish instead of with a fried egg for a lighter meal.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 5 days in an airtight container; pisto often tastes better the next day, and it also freezes well for up to 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions