Make Ahead

Pisto Manchego, vegetable stew from La Mancha.

by:
March 13, 2017
4
4 Ratings
Pisto Manchego, vegetable stew from La Mancha.
Photo by School of Tapas
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Pisto manchego is a mouthwatering Spanish mixture of tomatoes and Italian peppers (cubanelle peppers) fried, poached or sauteed in olive oil. It may also include zucchini, onion, red bell pepper and garlic or even, less frequently, eggplant or potato. An unquestionable classic fare from La Mancha —a historical and natural region in the center of Spain— which is eaten throughout the country. —School of Tapas

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the tomato sauce:
  • 1 ½ teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 ½ cups plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded
  • 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • For the vegetables:
  • 2 cups onions, diced
  • 2 cups green italian peppers, diced
  • 1 cup red bell peppers, diced
  • 2 cups zucchini, diced
  • ¼ cups virgin olive oil, divided
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Heat the virgin olive oil to medium-low temperature in a clay cooking pot (or a heavy-bottomed saucepan) and stir-fry the garlic. Add the tomatoes, crushed by hand as shown in the step-by-step photos, to the pot.
  2. Lower the heat to the minimum setting and cook about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
  3. Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in another clay cooking pot to medium-low and stir in the onion. Turn the heat to low and poach until the onion becomes golden and translucent.
  4. Transfer the poached onion to a plate using a slotted spoon.
  5. Add another 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the pot and stir in the Italian peppers along with the red bell pepper, if using. Lower the heat and cook, stirring from time to time.
  6. Remove the peppers with a slotted spoon and set aside along with the onion.
  7. Cook the zucchini in the same way as the peppers. Transfer to the cooked vegetable's platter when it is golden and shiny.
  8. Rub off any oil from the clay frying pot with kitchen paper, return all the vegetables to the pot along with the tomato sauce and turn the heat to very low. Cook for 45 minutes.
  9. Season with salt, black ground pepper and sugar to taste.
  10. Turn off the heat and let it settle one day long before serving for the flavors to develop.
Tags:

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Popular on Food52

1 Review

J H.
J H. May 15, 2017
Super easy to make. Couldn't find cubanelle peppers. Used pepperoncini instead. The flavors are really good and goes well with bread.