Pisto manchego is the vegetable stew of La Mancha, the high, dry plain in central Spain. Built from summer vegetables slowly cooked in olive oil (onion, green pepper, zucchini, and ripe tomato), it is a staple of home cooking across Castilla-La Mancha, served warm or at room temperature, often topped with a fried egg or a few slices of cured ham.

It is often compared to French ratatouille (recipe on the site) and to Catalan escalivada (also on the site), but pisto has its own character. The vegetables are cooked down until soft and jammy rather than kept distinct, and eggplant is generally not part of the classic version. The flavor is sweet, savory, and deeply tomato-rich.

Pisto is endlessly practical. It can be a tapa on toasted bread, a side for grilled meat or fish, a filling for empanadas, or a full meal topped with fried eggs, as in the recipe below.

Pisto Manchego Recipe

What you need

Ingredients

For the pisto:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 green bell peppers (or 3 Italian frying peppers), seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium zucchini, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, or 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar (only if the tomatoes are acidic)
Freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
Crusty bread
Thinly sliced Serrano ham (optional)

Cook along

Instructions

Warm the olive oil in a wide, deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent but not browned.
Add the peppers and cook 8 minutes more until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute.
Add the zucchini and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until lightly softened.
Pour in the tomatoes with their juices. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook uncovered 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and the oil begins to pool at the edges. Taste and add the sugar if needed.
In a nonstick skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat and fry the eggs until the whites are crisp at the edges and the yolks are still runny, 2 to 3 minutes.
Spoon the pisto into shallow bowls, top each with a fried egg, and add ham if using. Serve with crusty bread.