Ingredients
Vegetables
- 2onions, chopped
- 2green peppers, chopped
- 1red pepper, chopped
- 2courgettes, diced
- 1aubergine, diced, optional
- 6ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 400 g tinned
Also
- 150 mlolive oil
- 4 clovesgarlic
- 1 tspsugar, if the tomatoes are sharp
- salt and black pepper
To finish
- 1egg per person, fried or broken into the pan
- or a slice of jamón serrano
- or tinned tuna
To serve
- with bread, as a tapa or a light supper
Directions
- Use a generous quantity of good olive oil, far more than seems necessary. A mean amount of oil gives a dry, dull pisto, and Spanish cooks are unapologetic about the quantity.
- Start with the onion over a medium-low heat and cook it for ten to fifteen minutes. Cook the onion until it is completely soft and sweet without browning, which is the base of the whole dish. Now add the peppers and cook them for a further fifteen minutes.
- Add the garlic once the peppers have softened. Add them and cook for another fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. If you use aubergine, salt and drain it first so it absorbs less oil.
- Add the peeled chopped tomatoes and cook everything down together. Tomatoes go in last because their acid stops other vegetables softening, and adding them early leaves the peppers stubbornly firm.
- Peel the tomatoes, since the skins curl into strips of parchment through the soft mixture. Cook it uncovered over a low heat for a further twenty-five to thirty minutes. Leave it uncovered so the water evaporates and the mixture concentrates.
- Stir it every few minutes and scrape the base. It is ready when the vegetables have collapsed into each other, the mixture is thick, and the olive oil has separated and pooled at the edges.
- Season with salt and pepper, and add a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes were sharp. The classic is a fried egg on top, or eggs broken directly into wells in the pisto and cooked until just set.
Technique
- The vegetables are cooked together and merged, unlike careful ratatouille.
- Tomatoes go in last because their acid stops other vegetables softening.
- It is done when the oil separates and no water remains.
Substitutions
- Good tinned tomatoes out of season.
- Any mix of summer vegetables, though peppers and courgette are essential.
Variations
- With an egg broken into the pan and set.
- Served cold with tinned tuna, as a tapa.
- Made without aubergine, as in some regions.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pisto?
Pisto is a salad & side from Spain: manchegan fried vegetable medley, often crowned with egg.
How long does Pisto take to make?
Pisto takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Pisto?
Yes, within limits. Good tinned tomatoes out of season. Any mix of summer vegetables, though peppers and courgette are essential.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pisto?
Start with the onion over a medium-low heat and cook it for ten to fifteen minutes. Cook the onion until it is completely soft and sweet without browning, which is the base of the whole dish. Now add the peppers and cook them for a further fifteen minutes.
