Braised summer vegetable pisto with emerald sauce & fried egg

• olive oil↗

  for frying

• eggs↗4
• slices sourdough bread↗4

  toasted to serve

• extra-virgin olive oil↗4 tbsp tbsp
• onion↗1

  chopped

• garlic cloves↗2

  chopped

• green peppers↗2

  diced

• red peppers↗3

  diced

• very ripe tomatoes↗4

  chopped

• bay leaf↗1
• medium courgettes↗4

  diced

• bunch flat-leaf parsley↗1

  leaves picked

• large garlic cloves↗30

  (about 2 heads) peeled

• vegetable stock↗250ml ml

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   For the pisto, heat the oil in a deep frying pan and add the onion. Fry for a few mins, add garlic, then cook for a few mins more. Add the peppers and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins. Now add the tomatoes, the bay and courgettes and cook for about 30 mins, seasoning well.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, make the sauce. Drop the parsley in a pan of boiling water and cook for 1 min. Drain and immediately run under a cold tap, then shake off excess water. Put the garlic in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil, then drain and repeat with a fresh batch of water (this gets rid of the garlic’s strength). Add stock and simmer until the garlic is soft and the liquid syrupy. Purée with the parsley until smooth. Season.

3. 3

   For the eggs, add a glug of olive oil to a pan. When smoking hot, crack in the eggs – they will splutter but go deliciously crisp at the edges. Serve the pisto on toast, topped with egg, drizzled in the sauce.