Pisto Manchego
La Mancha Stewed Peppers, Courgette and Tomato with Fried Egg
Onion, peppers, courgette and tomato, each added in turn and cooked down in olive oil until soft, sweet and thick enough to mound on a plate. A fried egg goes on top and bread goes alongside. It is Spain's answer to ratatouille and it is better than that makes it sound.
The Spanish recipe read cuts everything to the same small dice, softens onion and garlic for 15 minutes, adds the peppers for another 15, then the courgette and crushed tomato, and stews the whole thing, covered, for an hour and a half before cooking off the liquid. It serves it with fried eggs and bread, or as a side dish for meat and fish.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g onions, cut into 1 cm dice
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 200 g green pepper, cut into 1 cm dice
- 200 g red pepper, cut into 1 cm dice
- 300 g courgettes, cut into 1 cm dice
- 500 g ripe tomatoes (about 4), peeled and crushed, or a 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 4 eggs and oil for frying, to serve
Method
- Onion Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan over a low heat. Cook the onions and garlic with the salt for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent.
- Peppers Add both peppers and cook for 15 minutes more, until they have softened and the oil has turned orange.
- Courgette and tomato Add the courgettes and tomatoes, stir, cover and cook over the lowest heat for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. The vegetables should stew in their own juice, not fry.
- Reduce Uncover and cook for 15 minutes more, until the liquid has evaporated and the pisto is thick and glossy. Taste for salt.
- Serve Fry the eggs in hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes until the whites are set and lacy at the edges. Serve the pisto warm with an egg on each portion and plenty of bread.
Food safety
For runny yolks use British Lion-marked eggs.
It keeps for four days in the fridge and is good cold.
Cut the vegetables to the same size so that they cook evenly.