Pisto
Onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and tomato cooked down together slowly into a dense, jammy stew, unlike ratatouille, whose vegetables are traditionally sauteed separately to keep each piece distinct. Built on New World vegetables that only arrived after the Columbian Exchange, pisto developed independently of the French dish it's often compared to rather than descending from it, and is often finished with a fried egg on top.
Vegan-optionalVegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 green bell peppers, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 medium zucchini, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 400g canned crushed tomato)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, to taste
- 1 pinch sugar, to balance the tomato's acidity
- 4 eggs, optional, for frying on top
Steps
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and saute the onion until translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers and cook 10 minutes until softened.
- Add the garlic and zucchini, and cook another 8-10 minutes.
- Add the tomato, bay leaf, salt, and sugar, and simmer uncovered 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a thick, jammy stew.
- Remove the bay leaf and adjust seasoning.
- Optionally top each serving with a fried egg.