Pisto is a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs vegetable stew originating from La Mancha and often referred to as Spanish Ratatouille. Loaded with a rainbow of colorful, fibrous garden vegetables, our version of Pisto Manchego features the flavor profiles of cumin, paprika and Spanish olives for a uniquely flavorful garden variety meal!
| Prep Time | 20 Minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 Minutes |
| Servings |
4 People
|
- 1.5 lbs Ripe Tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 3 sprigs oregano
- .25 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ea onion
- 5 ea garlic cloves
- 1 ea Red chile
- 1 ea red bell pepper
- 1 ea green bell pepper
- 1 ea zucchini
- .5 ea Eggplant
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- .33 cup Spanish Olives
- 1 Tbsp Olive Brine
- 4 ea Eggs
- 1 Tbsp parsley (chopped)
Ingredients
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- Cut a shallow crisscross into the bud-end of each tomato and plunge into a large pot of simmering water for no more than a minute to blanch and loosen the skin. Remove, let cool for a moment, then peel away the skin and core each tomato. Then coarsely chop all the skinless tomatoes.
- Start the tomato sauce with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the freshly peeled and chopped tomatoes, along with the sprigs of fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme. Dried herbs will also work. Add several grinds of black pepper. Stir and let simmer for about 15 minutes, lowering the heat a little midway.
- Coarsely chop the onion, bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant. Mince the garlic and red chili. Sauté all with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a fairly large, slight deep-sided pan over medium-high heat. After a couple minutes reduce heat to medium, adding the spices and olives. Continue sautéing the spiced vegetables for about 10 minutes total.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the freshly made tomato sauce into the pan with the sautéed vegetables and continue to cook another 10 to 15 minutes, low and slow.
- The last step is to use the back of a large serving spoon to create depressions in the Pisto mixture. Crack one egg into each depression. Cover the pan for 4 to 5 minutes until the eggs are coddled in the Pisto broth broth until set. Remove from heat, bring to the table in the pan and uncover to a bloom of fragrant steam. Sprinkled with chopped parsley and dig in!
This rustic, hearty, one pan meal is substantially plant-based, very low fat, low sodium and superbly nutritious thanks to the rich colors and anti-oxidant properties from the tomatoes, peppers, egg plant and herbs & spices. It’s just as good without the eggs. Try it either way, but here’s another trick. Instead of eggs, try nestling several fresh, boneless chunks of cod, halibut or other firm white fish down into the Pisto. It will cook in just a little longer than would the eggs, and offers a very different but even leaner protein source for the dish.