Pisto
A Spanish vegetable stew of courgette, pepper, onion and tomato slowly cooked in olive oil until soft and sweet.
Photograph credit: Pisto, sofrito de verduras by Juan Emilio Prades Bel · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What is the difference between pisto and ratatouille? Mostly the cooking. Pisto is stirred and stewed in a pan until the vegetables break down into a soft, jammy mass, while ratatouille tends to keep its pieces distinct.
Start with the onion and peppers, which take the longest, and add the courgette once they have softened. Tomatoes go in last, because their juice slows everything down. Cook the pisto until the oil floats on top. That is the signal that the water has cooked away and the flavour has concentrated.
Olive oil is generous here, and it is the point. The vegetables absorb it, and it carries their flavour.
Pisto is served in many ways: with a fried egg on top, with bread, or as a side for meat. It is often better the next day. Traditionally it is served warm with a fried egg on top. Leftovers can be stirred into pasta or used as a filling for an omelette.
Pisto: Step by Step
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Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and peppers over a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft.
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Add the courgettes and garlic and cook for 8 minutes.
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Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and the oil rises to the top.
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Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Tips That Matter
- Cook the vegetables slowly to keep them sweet.
- Add the tomatoes late to avoid a watery pisto.
- Stir now and then so nothing catches.
- Fry or poach eggs to serve on top.
Common Substitutions & Variations
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
Serve It With
Fried eggs · Crusty bread · Grilled chicken · Rice
Leftovers and Storage
Keeps in the fridge for 4 days. Freezes well for up to 3 months.
Pisto Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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