Andalusian Pisto with Pasta

Andalusian Pisto with Pasta

I just love Spanish food and was recently watching Rick Stein’s Long Weekends; Cadiz  (BBC TWO 2016). Cadiz, in western Andalusia, is a part of Spain I have not visited. I understand it is a little more difficult to get to so not inundated with tourists like the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The old city’s whitewashed buildings shimmer and the food and wines beckon. This is a cook’s dream and definitely on my list of must visits.

Andalusia is the southern most autonomous community of Spain. It lies south of the Iberian peninsula with a coastline fronting both the Atlantic ocean and Mediterranean Sea. With Morocco just to the south, it is often refereed to as the gateway to Africa. Ancient Andalusian ports were established by the Phoenicians. They were later occupied by the Romans, and then ruled by the Moors for more than 800 years. Christopher Columbus sailed from the Andalusian port of Cadiz for his second voyage to the Americas in 1493 and returned to the Andalusian port of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Today Andalusia is not only famous for its rich cultural past, but for its spectacular seafood, its superb sherry production and of course…Flamenco! This is Spain!

Duly inspired, I just had to get into the kitchen and cook up something that brought some of the flavors of this region of Spain to life. Spanish food is remarkably direct, full of earthy flavors, and is as colorful and alive as the Spanish themselves. The next best thing to taking  a trip to Cadiz!

Pisto is a more robust Spanish version of the French ratatouille, which always includes eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers.For this recipe I have introduced the smoky flavor of Spanish red picante pimenton. I have also added meats, including pork, serrano ham, and Spanish chorizo if you like. Pisto is usually served as it is, but to my mind this pisto, or ragu if you like, makes a very robust and flavorsome sauce for pasta. A flourish of grated Monchego cheese finishes this pasta perfectly.

…or Serve as a tapa at room temperature with shaved Monchego.

Andalusian Pisto Tapa

Andalusian Pisto with Pasta       Serves 4 to 6

• 3 tablespoons Spanish olive oil
• 375 g/ 13 oz ground pork
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 green bell pepper, trimmed, seeded, and finely diced
• 150 g/5 ½ oz thinly sliced dry cured Serrano ham, cut into small pieces
• 1 large (or 2 small) eggplant, unpeeled, diced into ½ inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, ground
• ½ teaspoon toasted coriander seeds, ground
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves, crumbled
• 500 g/18 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons picante smoked Spanish paprika (El Avon or La Chinata brands)
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• water as needed to thin sauce
• 3 tablespoons dry Spanish sherry
• 50 g/1 ¾ oz thinly sliced Spanish Chorizo, halved (optional)
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced broad leaf parsley
• Manchego cheese (curado 6 months) for grating
• pasta of choice, cooked al dente

Heat a large skillet medium high heat. Add the olive oil and when it begins to smoke add the ground pork and cook until the pork begins to brown. Lower the heat to medium and using a slotted spoon transfer the pork to a bowl and set aside.

Promptly add the onions to the skillet and saute until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Then add the sliced peppers and the serrano ham and saute until the peppers are softened. Stir in the reserved browned ground pork until the ingredients are well combined,

Add the eggplant to the skillet and season with the cumin, coriander, and marjoram. Continue sauteing until the eggplant is slightly colored and softened.

Add the crushed tomatoes and bring the contents of the pan to a simmer. Season with Spanish paprika, salt, and ground pepper. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. After about 15 minutes stir in the sherry and continue cooking another 10 minute or so. Add the chorizo if using and cook until the sauce is the right consistency, adding water to thin the sauce if needed .

While the pisto is simmering heat a large pot of water and bring to a rolling boil. Add salt and the pasta and stir from time to time until the pasta is cooked al dente.

Taste the sauce and correct the seasoning to your liking.

When you are ready to serve drain the pasta and place it back into the pot and stir in some of the pisto to evenly coat the pasta. Transfer the pasta to individual pasta plates. Top the pasta with more pisto and scatter the parsley over each serving. Add a good grating of Manchego over each portion and serve.