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Spanish

Pisto manchego

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

La Mancha's slow-cooked medley of onion, peppers, courgette and tomato in olive oil, cooked down until sweet and jammy. Often served with a fried egg on top.

Pisto manchego is a Spanish side dish from Spain, ready in about 1 hour 5 minutes and made with green bell pepper, red bell pepper and zucchini. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Pisto
Photo: Boca Dorada / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
50 min
Total
1 h 5 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
231

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Cook the onion (opens in a new tab) in the oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat until soft and golden. Add the garlic (opens in a new tab) and peppers and cook until soft.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the courgettes (opens in a new tab) and cook for another 10 minutes until tender.

    • 10 min
    • medium-low heat

  3. Step 3

    Add the tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and salt (and sugar (opens in a new tab) if needed) and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick and jammy.

    • 22 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    If serving with eggs (opens in a new tab), fry them in a little olive oil (opens in a new tab) in a separate pan over medium heat until the whites are set and the edges crisp. Serve the pisto hot or warm, topped with the eggs.

    • 4 min
    • medium heat

    Food safety: Fry eggs until the whites are fully set for anyone vulnerable.

About this dish

Origin
La Mancha, Spain · Well documentedMore food from Spain
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Side dishes · Main courses · Stews & braises
Cooking method
Stewed, Sautéed
Taste
sweet & savoury, savoury, fresh, mild
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Low-carb
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Lacto-vegetarian, Whole-food focused, Paleo-style, Egg-free, No added sugarWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pan · Make-ahead · Budget-friendly · Freezer-friendly
Cook more with
Green bell pepper · Red bell pepper · Zucchini · Tomato · Onion · Garlic
Techniques
Sautéing · Stewing

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

231 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 385 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 6%
  • Carbohydrate 29%
  • Fat 65%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy231 kcal60 kcal
Protein3.8 g1 g
Carbohydrate17.9 g4.7 g
Net carbohydrate13 g3.4 g
Sugars10.8 g2.8 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.9 g1.3 g
Fat17.6 g4.6 g
Saturated fat2.5 g0.7 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium603 mg157 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
821 mg
Calcium
53 mg
Iron
1.3 mg
Magnesium
47 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
126 µg
Vitamin C
106 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
74 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: sugar, egg.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Patience is everything — pisto should be slow-cooked, not quickly sautéed.

Common mistakes

  • Adding the tomato too early, which stews the vegetables instead of letting them soften and sweeten in the oil first.

Serve with

  • Serve with bread, or as a side for grilled meat or fish.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently in a pan.

Variations

  • With aubergine: Many families add diced aubergine with the courgette.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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