With August and Labor Day in the rearview mirror, we’re clearly cruising into a new season. Still, let’s not forget that summer lasts until Sept. 22. There is still time to soak it all in, to put all of summer’s best to use, to relish summer on all cylinders. The best way I know how to do that is to make the Spanish vegetable stew known as pisto.
Pisto has roots in ancient preparations, when Spain’s countryside — verdant and fruitful — lacked access to fresh water, according to Penelope Casas’s “1,000 Spanish Recipes.” Instead of boiling vegetables, cooks would simmer and saute them, letting their juices run and bubble until thick. There are many ways to make pisto, but it generally involves onions, zucchini (and/or eggplant) and tomatoes. Some variations are made with potatoes and other roots, leafy greens and a variety of summer squash.
Today’s recipe is a fairly traditional adaptation of pisto Manchego, in which onions, garlic, bell peppers, zucchini or eggplant, and tomatoes stew in their own juices (with a small splash of wine), until they’re tender and saucy.
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There’s so much you can do with pisto. It makes a fine pasta sauce, or you could cook it into rice. It’s sometimes used to stuff empanadas, and would be great in a Spanish tortilla or frittata. Cover it with cheese and bake it for a gratin. Use it to top yogurt or a creamy cheese, or consider serving it as a side dish with grilled meats or fish.
Here, we’re doing as friends of mine in Spain do and topping each serving of pisto with an egg cooked in crispy, fried Manchego cheese. The cheese forms a lacy crust around each sunny-side-up egg, and the pisto does a great job of soaking up the rich yolk. Be sure to serve this with bread on the side, for dragging through all of summer’s best flavors.
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