Pisto Manchego

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy sauté pan or low casserole, about 30cm
• •Box grater
• •Large heatproof bowl
• •Wooden spoon or flat-edged spatula
• •Slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the vegetables

   Cut the onion, peppers, and courgette into even 1.5cm pieces, keeping each vegetable separate. Halve the tomatoes across their middles and grate the cut faces against the coarse side of a box grater until only the skins remain in your palm; discard the skins. Even pieces are not fussiness here. They let each panful soften at the same pace.

   Dry the courgette and peppers after washing. Water clinging to them cools the pan and makes them stew before their own moisture has had a chance to cook away.
2. 2

   Soften the onion

   Set a wide, heavy 30cm pan over medium-low heat and add 20ml of the olive oil. Add the onion with 2g of the salt and cook for 14 to 16 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until soft, translucent, and pale gold at the edges. Do not hurry it into browning. Lift the onion into a large heatproof bowl, leaving any oil behind.

3. 3

   Cook the peppers

   Add 25ml olive oil to the same pan, followed by both peppers and 2g salt. Cook over medium-low heat for 16 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are supple and sweet, their skins lightly wrinkled and their corners just beginning to colour. They should bend without collapsing. Transfer them to the bowl with the onion.

   If your pan is smaller than 30cm, cook the peppers in two batches. A crowded pan traps their water, and boiled pepper has very little to say for itself.
4. 4

   Cook the courgette

   Add 20ml olive oil and the courgette. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 7 minutes before adding 3g salt. Continue for another 5 to 7 minutes, turning the pieces gently, until their edges look translucent but the centres still hold their shape. Move the courgette to the bowl. It will finish cooking later, so stop before it goes completely soft.

5. 5

   Reduce the tomato

   Pour the remaining 25ml olive oil into the pan. Add the grated tomato and the remaining 5g salt, bring it to a lively bubble over medium heat, then lower the heat and cook uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes. Stir more often as it thickens. It is ready when the colour has deepened, small beads of oil show around the edge, and a wooden spoon drawn across the bottom leaves a track open for two seconds.

   For canned tomatoes, use 800g good whole peeled tomatoes, drained lightly and crushed by hand. Cook them about 10 minutes longer. The flavour will be deeper and less fresh, but far better than hard winter tomatoes.
6. 6

   Fold the pisto together

   Return the onion, peppers, and courgette to the thick tomato. Fold them together gently, lower the heat, and cook uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir only two or three times so the pieces remain distinct. This separate cooking is what decides the dish: every vegetable loses its water and becomes tender in its own time before they meet. If liquid gathers beneath the spoon, give it another 5 minutes uncovered.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Take the pan off the heat and leave the pisto to rest for 10 minutes. The tomato settles around the vegetables and the olive-oil sheen returns to the surface. Taste once rested, then serve warm or at room temperature with country bread. A spoonful should hold together on the plate without becoming stiff or leaving a watery pool.

Chef Tips

• •Make pisto when tomatoes smell ripe before you cut them and feel heavy in the hand. If the fresh ones are poor, use canned whole peeled tomatoes or wait for summer. In cold weather, La Mancha turns to potaje de garbanzos con espinacas, chickpeas with spinach; hard tomatoes do not improve from being argued with.
• •Pimiento verde italiano is a long, thin-skinned green frying pepper with a gentle bitterness. A green bell pepper works when that is what the market gives you, but cut it a little smaller and allow three to five extra minutes because its flesh and skin are thicker.
• •Use the widest pan you own. The vegetables need room for their moisture to escape. If they cover the base in more than one snug layer, work in batches and join them later.
• •Pisto is already vegan and needs no decoration. Bread makes it a plain, complete lunch. For a vegetarian table, a fried egg laid over each portion is also customary, with the yolk running into the tomato.
• •The flavour is fuller the next day. Cool the pisto and refrigerate it in a covered container within two hours; it keeps for four days. Reheat it gently, or bring it to room temperature and serve it as it is.
• •A young, unoaked Tempranillo from Valdepeñas suits the sweet peppers and tomato. A dry Airén from La Mancha is the lighter choice.

Advance Preparation

• •The onion, peppers, and courgette can be cut up to 8 hours ahead. Keep each in a separate covered container in the refrigerator, with the grated tomato in its own container.
• •The complete pisto can be made up to 3 days ahead. Its flavour settles overnight, which makes it particularly good for meal preparation.
• •To reheat, set it over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes and fold it gently once or twice. If it has set very thick, add 15ml water, no more, and let it settle again before serving.
• •Pisto can be frozen for up to 2 months, though the courgette will be softer after thawing. Defrost it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat uncovered so any released water can cook away.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)