Great Spanish Cookbook: Delicious Pisto

You might not have heard of pisto, but you’ve almost certainly eaten it in one form or another! Pisto is the Spanish version of the French Ratatouille. A hearty vegetable stew packed full of herbs and seasonal vegetables. Spanish food is almost always full of flavour, and this is certainly true when it comes to pisto.

Like so many Spanish dishes, you will find incredible and flavoursome pisto but you will also find sloppy and bland versions of the dish. Being able to enjoy the very best versions of this dish is one of the advantages of living in Spain. Whilst it might seem simple (and it is) the key to getting this dish right is almost certainly practice. With that in mind, here are all the recipes you’ll need to make your very own pisto, as well as the cooking method to prepare it to perfection:

Ingredients:

• 3 small courgettes, diced
• 2 medium red bell peppers, diced
• 2 medium green bell peppers, diced
• 4 medium onions, diced
• 3 small purple aubergines, peeled and diced
• 2 lbs of ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, diced
• A pinch of thyme, rosemary and  fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon of cumin

• 1 teaspoon of refined sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking Method:

1. Layer the diced eggplant onto paper towels then sprinkle salt over them. Leave them for at least ten minutes so that they dry out a little before you cook them.
2. Take two frying pans, add a splash of olive oil to both, and place them on a medium heat.
3. In one of the pans, saute the diced onions until they are transparent. Leave them to cook but don’t let them brown. When they’re ready, place them in a large bowl.
4. In the second pan, add the peppers and  sauté over a medium high heat until starting to brown. Lower to medium and cover for about 10 minutes until they’re cooked, and then add them to the same bowl as the onions.
5. Rinse the salt from the aubergines using a mesh strainer.
6. Follow steps 3 and 4 to cook the courgettes and the aubergines, ensuring that all of the vegetables are cooked through before you add them to your mixing bowl.
7. Add all of the spices to the bowl of vegetables and mix well.
8. Add oil to one of the pans and use this to fry the diced garlic. When the garlic is almost cooked, add the diced tomatoes to the
9. Next, add a bit more oil to one of the pans if necessary, and add the diced garlic (and the dried cayenne peppers if using). Sauté over medium heat until starting to fry. Then add the peeled and diced tomato to the pan. Cook over a medium low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until you have tomato sauce. Add the sugar, and adjust for salt.
10. Now, in a large frying pan, mix the previously cooked veggies with the tomato sauce.
11. Mix everything well, and cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat. Adjust for salt and spices, and enjoy!

 Are you thinking of living in Spain? Perhaps you like the idea of submerging yourself into the traditional Spanish lifestyle and cooking Spanish recipes every day? Whatever your dream, we can help. Why not get in touch with our team of local property experts today, to find out more about how we can help you.