Once you try this, it will become part of your staples!!!

The history of Pisto goes back to the 17th century, when the dish was possibly cooked by the Spanish farmers in the open air with the seasonal products of their gardens👩🏻‍🌾 The original pisto recipe is made only with green peppers and tomatoes, but it got adapted over time depending on the regions.

This recipe is from my boyfriend’s mother, her name is Sampedro, but we call her just yaya or “la Sampe”, and she probably got the original recipe from her mother and adapted it, and so on and on 👵🏼. Last weekend I finally wrote down the recipe, when I was making my very first pisto together with her. So this is one for the books and you should definitively try it out as long as there are still some ripe tomatoes 🍅🍅🍅 on the market.

Yaya Sampe in the kitchen, making seitan 🙂

The pisto can be kept in glasses in the fridge for at least one week without any problem, but it can also be frozen❄️ It goes well with anything, hamburgers, salads, or how I like it the most: I like it cold, just out of the fridge, and on top of a thick slice of my „Zopf“ braided bread (recipe also on my website), or on any bread…. it’ soooooo goooooooood and a little bit addictive 🤤🤤.

 

 

 

Print Recipe
Yaya Sampe's Pisto
Traditional Spanish Pisto recipe, with tomatoes and bell peppers. Perfect for hamburgers, salads or just on a slice of bread for whenever you feel hungry. Packed with veggies and super, super tasty. Very easy to make, only a few ingredients needed.
Traditional Spanish Pisto on top of Zopf bread
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings
600ml glasses
Ingredients
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings
600ml glasses
Ingredients
Traditional Spanish Pisto on top of Zopf bread
Instructions
  1. In a large pot bring plenty of water to a boil
  2. Make 2 incisions cross-wise in each tomato. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water and let them simmer for about 15 minutes, until you see that the skin is starting to come off.
  3. Remove them from the water and place them into a big bowl. Let them cool down a bit. Once you’re able to touch them, peel the tomatoes and if necessary remove the stalk. Make sure to collect all the water/juice coming out of the tomatoes during this step, that’s why it’s best to do it all inside of this large bowl.
  4. Transfer the tomatoes to a large enough pot. With a hand blender, puree the tomatoes, there may still be small pieces left, it doesn’t have to be completely liquid. Then bring this „sauce“ to a boil. Let it simmer at medium heat for at least 15-20 minutes.
  5. Cut the eggplants into 3-4 slices each, place them on a plate, drizzle a few drops of olive oil on them and cook them in the microwave for about 6-8 minutes at 900W until they are soft.
  6. Chop the rest of the veggies into small pieces (like 1cm x 1cm), and chop the onion more finely. Slice the mushrooms. Also the pre-cooked eggplant slices can be cut into smaller pieces now.
  7. Using the same big pot again, heat plenty of olive oil (at least 50-60ml 😱 yeah, I know it’s a lot, but that’s just how it is with traditional mediterranean recipes 🤷🏻‍♀️).
  8. First up: Red + Green bell peppers. Add 1 tsp of salt and stir-fry them until soft.
  9. Then add the onion with another pinch of salt and stir-fry until soft as well.
  10. Then add the mushrooms, stir everything around to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot and let it cook for another 3-5 minutes.
  11. Then add the zucchinis. Stir-fry until they are medium soft.
  12. Finally add the pre-cooked eggplants. Mix everything well and keep stir-frying all the veggies for another 5-8 minutes, until they are completely cooked and soft.
  13. Once the veggies are soft you can add the cooked tomatoes. Mix everything trough and let it cook slightly for another 5-10 minutes.
  14. Turn off the heat and let it cool down. Check if it has enough salt and add more if necessary.
  15. Then fill in glasses and keep in the fridge, or freeze.
Recipe Notes

The pisto can be kept in glasses in the fridge for at least one week without any problem, but it can also be frozen❄️ It goes well with anything, hamburgers, salads, or how I like it the most: I like it cold, just out of the fridge, and on top of a thick slice of my „Zopf“ braided bread (recipe also on my website), or on any bread…. soooooo goooooooood 🤤🤤

 

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