Pisto manchego – Spanish vegetable stew Recipe
Pisto manchego is a vegetable stew from La Mancha, often compared to French ratatouille. In Spain it’s served with a fried egg or a piece of bread as a simple home-style lunch. It’s a great way to use up an excess of summer vegetables – zucchini, peppers and tomatoes.
Pisto manchego is the essence of the Spanish summer in one pot – soft, long-simmered vegetables in a tomato sauce that just begs to be wiped up with a slice of bread. Unlike ratatouille, the vegetables here are more stewed than sautéed, which makes the sauce thick, silky and deeply concentrated in flavor. It’s a rustic home-style dish from La Mancha that perfectly shows how to turn a few simple vegetables into a satisfying, complete meal.
Chef's tips
Don’t rush the stewing – those extra 10 minutes over low heat can make a huge difference to the depth of flavor and the texture of the sauce. It’s worth lightly browning the zucchini around the edges before you add the tomatoes, so it doesn’t fall apart into mush and keeps a pleasant bite. Also keep an eye on the salt: canned tomatoes can vary a lot, so I always finish seasoning only at the end, after the sauce has reduced a bit.
How to serve
The most classic way to serve pisto is with a fried egg and a piece of good bread – my go-to for a Saturday lunch after coming back from the farmers’ market. To drink, a light Spanish red wine (like a young Tempranillo) works beautifully, or simply water with lemon if you’re eating in the middle of a hot day. You can also use pisto as a pasta sauce or as a filling for quesadillas for a quick vegetable-packed work lunch.
Ingredients
- zucchini diced - 400 g
- red bell pepper diced - 200 g
- green bell pepper diced - 150 g
- onion diced - 200 g
- garlic finely chopped - 3 cloves
- canned tomatoes chopped or whole, peeled - 400 g
- olive oil for frying - 4 tablespoons
- salt or to taste - 1.5 teaspoons
- black pepper freshly ground - 0.5 teaspoons
- bay leaf - 1 piece
- eggs optional, for serving on top - 4 piece
Preparation
- In a large wide pan or pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until softened and slightly translucent.
- Add the peppers, stir and cook for another 5–7 minutes, until they start to soften.
- Add the zucchini and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté for 5–7 minutes, stirring, until the zucchini starts to brown around the edges.
- Add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Pour in the canned tomatoes, add the bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the sauce has thickened. If the sauce is too thin, uncover the pot for the last 5–10 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed.
- If you want to serve the pisto with eggs, heat a little olive oil in a separate pan and fry the eggs: crack an egg into the hot pan and cook for 3–4 minutes over medium heat, until the white is set and the yolk remains runny.
- Spoon portions of pisto onto plates and top each with a fried egg. Serve with a piece of bread for mopping up the sauce.
Storage
Store cooled pisto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a pan over low heat, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much. It also freezes well for up to 2–3 months; defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat before serving.
