Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 eggplant, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 zucchini, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Fried or Poached Eggs optional
• Crusty bread optional, to serve

Directions

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Keep stirring often as you add each vegetable. Add the bell peppers and cook for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the eggplant and cook for 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook until the vegetables begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add the canned diced tomatoes, salt, black pepper, paprika, and cumin. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the tomatoes down, stirring occasionally, until reduced and the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sherry vinegar and parsley. Serve the pisto in bowls with crusty bread as an appetizer or side dish with meat or fish. If you’d like to serve it as a main course, top it with a fried egg.

Notes

• Pisto =Stew in English
• Think of pisto as Spain’s version of ratatouille. It’s a dish of stewed fresh vegetables. At its most basic, pisto is made with tomatoes, onions, and peppers. But like many old, classic Spanish recipes, there are countless variations throughout the different regions of Spain. The most common is pisto Manchego, or pisto from the region of La Mancha, which includes zucchini and sometimes eggplant.
• Pisto is a traditional dish from La Mancha, consisting of a variety of cooked and fried vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and courgettes. It is very similar to the famous ratatouille. The dish can be served cold as a starter, or warm as a side dish.
• It is believed that pisto was introduced to Spain by the Moors, who used to call it alboronia. There are also numerous variations of pisto, with added ingredients such as potatoes, pumpkin, or ham.

Photos