Introduction
Some people assume pisto is a Spanish version of pesto, but it bears far more similarities to ratatouille than Italian pesto or French pistou.
This super-healthy, vegetarian Spanish stew is typically served as a starter and accompanied by either rice or warm, crusty bread. We can't think of many dishes that aren't improved by adding a fried egg on top, and this is a particularly fine example of that.
Traditionally hailing from La Mancha in Spain, the stew contains different ingredients depending on the season. As a rule, though, it consists of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers, aubergine, courgette, and onions.
Spices such as cumin, paprika, or cayenne pepper are sometimes added, as are herbs like thyme, rosemary, and oregano. However, when you have some pesto to hand, you don't need to worry about any of that faff. Whilst our take on this classic dish is far from traditional, stirring a generous dollop of pesto through your stew will transport it to a whole new level.
The two tricks to making the best pisto are to cook the vegetables slowly and to make sure you are using only the finest extra-virgin olive oil and tomatoes. When in season, we opt for fresh sungold tomatoes, thanks to their extraordinary sweetness. If we want a taste of summer in the winter months, then nothing beats tinned San Marzano tomatoes.
Recommended equipment
Slow cooker
Pro tip
Like all the best stews, it's worth making a double batch because it tastes even better the next day.
Spanish pisto recipe for two
Olive oil | as needed |
Aubergine | x1 |
Courgette | x1 |
Red pepper | x1 |
Yellow pepper | x1 |
Onion | x1 |
Tomatoes | x1 tin |
Garlic | x2 cloves |
Pesto | 100g |
Eggs | x2 |
Sherry vinegar | dash |
Seasoning | to taste |
Method
Our ultimate way to make pisto is to start softening some of the vegetables on the hob and then transfer everything to a slow cooker. If a hob is your only option, then just be prepared to spend a good hour on your feet, as it's one of those dishes that requires quite a lot of babysitting. Here, though, we're assuming you're using our slow cooker method.
Slice the onion, crush the garlic, and chop the peppers, courgette, and aubergine into bite-sized chunks.
Add a very generous glug of olive oil to a saucepan or skillet and heat on a medium-low flame. Add the onion and sauté until softened but not browned, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the aubergine, courgette, peppers, and garlic and continue to heat slowly for another 5-10 minutes.
Add the pesto, tinned tomatoes, a splash of vinegar, and a generous pinch of salt. Transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
When the timer's up, simply dish up some warm, crusty bread for your vegan friends. For vegetarians who fancy some protein, serve with a fried egg on top. For dedicated carnivores who are likely to feel hard done by without having any meat for dinner, serve with some cured Ibérico ham or thinly sliced Spanish sausage.
]]>Introduction
Maybe we just had a bad experience as kids at school dinners, but whenever we hear "potato salad," the immediate image that springs to mind is one of a rather insipid side dish made from over-boiled, tasteless potatoes drowning in a sickly mayonnaise. We shudder just thinking about it.
Thankfully, we now know that it doesn't have to be like this. The addition of a little pesto to a potato salad can turn it from the mundane to the extraordinary. This recipe makes a great side dish for four. Alternatively, you can upgrade it to a substantial main for two by adding some crispy pancetta, tiger prawns, or baked tofu.
Recommended equipment
Steamer
Digital kitchen scales
Pro tip
Any potato will do, but our absolute favourite is the fingerling variety. This stubby little potato may not be much to look at, but its unique texture and unmistakably nutty flavour defy its diminutive stature.
Ingredients
New potatoes | 300g |
Pesto | 20g |
Mayonnaise | 20g |
Quails eggs | x6 |
Yellow pepper | 50g |
Green beans | 50g |
Cherry tomatoes | 100g |
Cress | x1 tub |
Oil | as needed |
Method
Chop the potatoes into equal-sized chunks. If you're watching your calories, you can simply steam the potatoes over salted water until tender, about 12-14 minutes.
If you're not watching your weight, par-steam the potatoes (around 6-8 minutes), toss in a little oil, and finish their cooking in a preheated 180°C oven until fully cooked and crispy on the edges, about another 10 minutes.
Top, tail, and halve the green beans and steam until al dente, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Soft-boil your quail eggs by boiling them for 2.5 minutes before shocking them in ice-water. Once cold, peel, halve, and set aside.
Place your potatoes in a large mixing bowl and coat them throughly with the mayonnaise and pesto. This is the base of your salad.
Add the beans, sliced yellow pepper, and cherry tomatoes and toss just once or twice until some are coated but some are still as naked as the day they were harvested.
Plate up and garnish with the quail eggs and cress.
]]>Introduction
For something that contains just a few ingredients and takes less than five minutes to make, you'd think that making a pesto omelette would be a cinch. Well, it's easy to make an acceptable one, but tricky to make a top-notch one.
It's the reason chefs have traditionally made potential new recruits make an omelette as part of their interview. If a wannabe chef can make a great omelette, that shows they can cook!
Adding pesto to an omelette is certainly not traditional, but we like to include just a smidge in ours along with a little grated cheddar. As for our preferred style of omelette, well, there's so many to choose from because virtually every cuisine in the world has its own version.
What most Brits inadvertently tend to make is an American-style omelette, which is fully cooked through with a golden-brown crust and packed full of fillings. We think they are revolting, which is why we favour a classic French omelette. Their version is silky smooth, served in a cylindrical 'cigar' shape with the middle so loose and tender that your American guests will think you're trying to poison them with uncooked egg.
Recommended equipment
Digital scales
Non-stick omelette pan
Non-scratch whisk
Pro tip
The jury's out on whether salting eggs before cooking them is beneficial or detrimental. Gordon f***ing Ramsey reckons salt turns eggs watery, while Kenji López-Alt, Serious Eats' nerd-in-residence, says it makes them more tender. We agree with Kenji.
Ingredients for one pesto omelette
Eggs | x3 |
Cheddar | 15g |
Pesto | 10g |
Unsalted butter | 10g |
Salt | to taste |
White pepper | to taste |
Chives | for garnish |
Method
Start by grating the cheese and finely chopping the chives.
Break the eggs into a bowl, season with a little salt and pepper, and whisk until you have a homogenous mixture.
Heat the butter in a non-stick pan on medium heat until foaming, and add the whisked egg. Agitate the mixture by stirring vigorously and shaking the pan backward and forward.
Just as the eggs start to show signs of setting, remove the pan from the heat and tilt it by lifting the handle so you have most of the egg on the other side of the pan.
Starting from the handle side, carefully flip the egg mixture over itself so you start to create a cylindrical shape. Continue flipping it over and over until you reach the part with the most egg.
Add your cheese and pesto fillings and give it one final flip over.
Transfer to a plate and garnish with chives.
Serving suggestions
Rocket salad with cherry tomatoes
Baked hash browns
Sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and olive oil
A selection of hams
Sautéed wild mushrooms
Introduction
Except for beans-on-toast, the humble jacket potato must be the nation’s favourite comfort food.
On paper, throwing a potato in the oven is about as simple as cooking can get, but in order to perfect that balance of crispy exterior and fluffy insides, you need to follow a few simple steps.
We’ll never give up eating our jacket potatoes with baked beans, tuna mayo, or coleslaw, but this recipe, which opts for a cheesy-pesto filling, is now forever part of our baked-spud repertoire.
Pro tip
Once cooked, don’t let your spud sit around. Act quickly and slice it open straight out of the oven. Leave it too long, and that crispy skin will go soggy as the potato steams itself from the inside.
Ingredients for one
Potato* | x1 |
Unsalted butter | 15g |
Gouda | 75g |
Pesto | 50g |
Red onion | 15g |
Lemon juice | dash |
Chives | for garnish |
Olive oil | as needed |
Seasoning | to taste |
* This should be a floury variety such as Maris Piper, King Edward, or Russet.
Method
Finely dice the red onion and grate the cheese. Refrigerate until needed.
Scrub your potato under running tap water and dry it to within an inch of its life. Wet skins don’t get crispy!
Give the potato a few pricks with a fork, rub olive oil all over, and give it a generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes.
Place on a baking tray in a pre-heated 190°C oven until it is soft in the middle when you put a skewer through it and the skin is super crispy. That should take around 45 minutes depending on the size of your potato.
Slice the potato in half lengthways and add the butter, followed by the cheese and pesto.
Garnish with red onion, and chives.
Serving suggestions
Braised Brussel sprouts with smoked bacon
Tortilla chips with a Tzatziki dip
Oven-baked courgette crisps
Tomato and olive salad
Tangy cabbage slaw
Introduction
This is our go-to, open-top pesto sandwich, and it's about as Mediterranean as you can get. By relying on just a few ingredients, the quality of each one must be absolutely top-notch.
When serving this for friends we pull out all the stops and source buffalo mozzarella from Campania, our favourite 20-year-old balsamic vinegar from Moderna, and plenty of La Vallee des Beaux, which we reserve for special occasions. Providing you invest in the best possible, in-season tomatoes, supermarket sourced ingredients are perfectly acceptable.
Ingredients for one pesto tartine
Sourdough | 1 slice |
Heritage tomato | x1 |
Pesto | 50g |
Mozzarella | 100g |
Balsamic vinegar | as needed |
Olive oil | as needed |
Sea salt flakes | to taste |
Pepper | to taste |
Method
Cut a 1-inch slice of sourdough, drizzle with olive oil, and grill until just starting to colour, about 30-45 seconds.
Spread the pesto all over the bread, encouraging it to fill the gaps in the bread as you go.
Slice the mozzarella and lay it on top of the pesto, followed by a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Next, cut the tomato into thick slices and layer them on top of the mozzarella.
Finally, drizzle with a little more oil and flake on some sea salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper.
Serving suggestions
Sweet potato fries
Homemade coleslaw
BBQ-pulled pork
Pickles and onion rings
Simple green salad
Introduction
We have so much cool stuff in our development kitchen: a whipping siphon, magnetic stirrer, pressure cooker, dehydrator, vacuum chamber, immersion circulator, and even a centrifuge.
However, that doesn't mean we're snobs when it comes to using more everyday equipment. In fact, we think that some things, carrots, asparagus, and this soup in particular, are at their best when cooked in a microwave.
Recommended equipment
Mandolin
Blender
Fine-mesh sieve
Microwave
Pro tip
To increase the decadence of this recipe, add some crispy pancetta or olive oil toasted sourdough croutons. To tweak the taste, substitute the peas for courgette, or make it lower in calories by switching the cream for fat-free crème fraiche.
Ingredients for two small bowls
Frozen peas | 200g |
Vegetable stock | 350g |
Pesto | 60g |
Double cream | 30g |
Onion | 1/2 |
Garlic | x1 clove |
Lemon | x1 |
Seasoning | to taste |
Garnishes | optional |
Olive oil | optional |
Method
Finely slice the garlic and onion (we favour a mandolin for this task; just watch your fingers!) and add to a large, microwave-proof bowl along with the peas, stock, a dash of lemon juice, and some salt and pepper. Cover tightly with cling film and microwave on full power for 8 minutes.
Scoop off a tablespoon of peas and set aside. Add the rest of the soup to a blender along with the pesto. Blend until silky smooth, checking that the seasoning is to your liking as you go along.
When ready to serve, warm the soup in the microwave or on the hob until piping hot. Grate a little lemon zest into the bottom of your bowls and pour over the soup. Garnish with the reserved peas, some double cream, and your very best olive oil.
Serving suggestions
Potato and green bean salad
Cheesy garlic ciabatta
Baked parmesan broccoli
Tomato, mozzarella, and orzo salad
Roasted vegetable quesadilla
Introduction
We know it's a cliche, but panzanella is one of those dishes where it's all about the quality of the ingredients. So much so, in fact, that we don't even bother trying to make it outside of late-May to early-October. The watery, tasteless tomatoes you find out of season are always such a disappointment.
Pro tip
You can make panzanella with any tomato variety, but a mixture of shapes, colours, and sweetness makes for a more interesting meal. It looks cooler too!
Ingredients for two
Tomatoes | 400g |
Sourdough | 150g |
Pesto | 50g |
Cucumber | 1/2 |
Red onion | 1/2& small |
Garlic | 1/2 clove |
Olive oil | 70g |
Red wine vinegar | 20g |
Basil | for garnish |
Pine nuts | for garnish |
A note on ingredients
Because we've already committed a cardinal sin by adding pesto to our panzanella, we've kept the rest of the recipe loyal to what you'd be served in the salad's spiritual home of Tuscany. Having said that, in the past we've added a whole bunch of other ingredients: olives, capers, anchovies, mozzarella, and hard-boiled eggs, and have been chuffed with the results.
Method
The first step is to wash and dice your tomatoes. Some people obsess about making them all a uniform size, but we much prefer chopping them into different sizes for a more interesting mouthfeel.
Put your tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Set your alarm for 15 minutes, then rinse off the salt, but reserve the liquid that's been expelled from the tomatoes. This stuff is liquid gold, and it will shortly be used to enhance your vinaigrette.
Finely slice the red onion and chop the cucumber into cubes around the size of a pea. Set aside.
Traditional wisdom says to use stale bread, but for our money, fresh bread toasted in the oven is far superior. Preheat an oven to 150°C and chop your sourdough into cubes around the size of a die. Mix 50g of the olive oil with the pesto and liberally coat the bread pieces. Bake them in the oven until they have just started to go crispy, about 10 minutes.
For the vinaigrette, crush the garlic, season, then whisk in the red wine vinegar, the reserved juices from the salted tomatoes, and the remaining olive oil.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and leave to hang out at room temperature for 15 minutes. During this time, the bread has a chance to soak up some of the vinaigrette, resulting in many unpredictable but very welcome textures, everything from soft and chewy to crisp and brittle.
Give the salad one final toss and serve with a chilled glass of sparkling rosé.
Serving suggestions
Roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes
Grilled, buttery sweetcorn with balsamic glaze
Warm burrata
Poached salmon
Crispy grilled chicken wings
Introduction
A panini with a gooey cheese centre that allows you to recreate the iconic 'cheese-pull' shot is basically what Instagram was invented for.
Recommended equipment
Panini press or sandwich maker
Pro tip
Want to recreate the iconic gooey cheese pull shot above? Use firm mozzarella. You could use a more exciting cheese for the bulk of your panini, but at the very least add some mozzarella to the very centre, which you are going to pull in two.
Ingredients for one
Panini | x1 |
Pesto | 30g |
Cheese | 50g |
Tomato | x1 |
Method
Slice your panini in half and spread a good amount of pesto on the bottom half.
Slice your tomato and arrange it on top of the pesto, followed by your cheese of choice.
Place in a pre-heated panini maker and cook until the bread is nicely browned and the cheese is bubbling.
Serving suggestions
Homemade tomato soup
A sunny-side-up fried egg
Sweet potato fries with ketchup or brown sauce
Wild rocket and Parmesan salad
Gherkin and caper salad
Introduction
A traditional Spanish omelette contains little more than eggs and potato, and if that sounds bland and boring, you’ve clearly never hung out in enough Spanish bars to know how epic it can be.
Adding onions is considered a little controversial, so our addition of pesto and Manchego cheese won’t win us any fans in Reino de España.
Pro tip
Having tried this recipe with numerous types of potatoes, Yukon Gold is our potato of choice. However, any waxy variety, such as Charlotte, Anya, or Jersey Royal, is also a good bet.
Recommended equipment
Non-stick frying pan
Precision, medium-weight digital scales
Ingredients for two
Ingredient | Quantity |
Potatoes* | x2 small |
Olive oil | 200g |
Onion | x1 |
Manchego | 75g |
Pesto | 60g |
Eggs | x3 |
Seasoning | as needed |
Chives | for garnish |
* Our ultimate potato for this recipe is Yukon Gold, but any starchy variety will work.
Method
Start by thinly slicing your potatoes and onions. Add them to a pan with a ludicrous amount of oil (you’re essentially deep-frying them) and cook until tender and starting to caramelise, about 10-12 minutes.
Drain the vegetables on paper towels and strain the oil, which you can keep and use at least half a dozen more times. Add the pesto and cheese, and season to taste.
Add the eggs and delicately fold them into the mixture. Don’t whisk, or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. Let the whole lot hang out for 15-20 minutes.
Add the mixture to a non-stick pan and leave to cook over medium heat until the underside is nicely golden-brown, about 3-4 minutes.
Flip the omelette and cook the other side for an extra minute or two.
Garnish with chives, and serve warm.
Serving suggestions
Avocado and toasted pumpkin seed salad
Sautéed chanterelle mushrooms with sour cream and thyme
Rocket, watercress, and walnut salad
Roast artichoke hearts with lemon, olive oil, and garlic
Sourdough with lashings of butter
Introduction
We could argue all day about whether the UK's national dish is shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, or chicken tikka masala. However, what we do know for certain is that Brits will eat, on average, over 730 pizzas in their lifetime, spending almost £10,000 in the process.
Our recipe is designed for pizza novices, and if you follow it to the letter, you should hit the spot the first time with no burnt crusts, raw dough or soggy bottoms.
Pro tip
Impress your bread-making friends by referring to the second knead as “knocking back.”
Recommended equipment
Pizza stone or tray
Pizza peel
Pizza cutter
Precision, medium-weight digital scales
Precision, small-weight digital scales
Ingredients for one 10-inch thin crust pizza
Ingredient | Quantity |
Bread flour | 110g |
Tepid water | 70g |
Semolina | 20g |
Olive oil | 7g |
Sugar | 3g |
Yeast | 2g |
Salt | 1g |
Toppings
Ingredient | Quantity |
Mozzarella | 125g |
Mushrooms | 150g |
Cherry tomatoes | 100g |
Pesto | 50g |
Method
Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, flour, and semolina and sift onto a clean work surface. Make a well in the middle and pour in the tepid water and olive oil.
Mix with a fork in a circular motion until the dough starts to come together. Ditch the fork and knead with your hands for 3-4 minutes until you have a smooth, springy ball of dough.
Dust a large bowl with some more flour and place the dough in it. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave in the warmest part of your kitchen for at least an hour, during which time it should double in size.
Give the dough another quick knead (“knocking back,” as it’s called in the trade) and roll the dough into a broadly circular 10-inch shape. Transfer the dough to an oiled pizza tray (if you have one) and spread the pesto all over, making sure to go right up to the edges.
Add your toppings, followed by the mozzarella. Crank your oven as high as it will go, preferably at least 240°C, and cook until the dough is cooked and the mozzarella is bubbling, about 8-12 minutes.
Serving suggestions
Brussel sprouts Caesar salad with garlic breadcrumbs
One-skillet kale with lemon zest
Slow-cooker spinach and leaks with crème fraiche
Creamy dill and sweet potato salad
Cannellini beans with olives and parsley