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1
Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over a low heat. Add the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the onion is fully soft and translucent — not coloured. The pan should carry a faint, sweet smell, not a sharp, browning one.
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2
Add the red and green peppers to the pan. Continue to cook on a low heat, stirring from time to time, until the peppers have softened and begun to collapse into the onion base. They should yield easily to the back of a spoon.
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3
Add the courgette. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pieces have lost their raw firmness and begun to give up their liquid into the pan. No additional liquid is added at any stage — the vegetables supply all the moisture.
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4
Add the crushed tomatoes. Stir to integrate and bring the whole mass to a gentle simmer. This is where the dish lives or dies: reduce the heat to its lowest setting and cook, uncovered, for a full 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has entirely evaporated, the vegetables have surrendered their individual form, and the pisto has concentrated to a dense, jammy, deeply coloured whole. A wooden spoon drawn through the centre should leave a channel that closes slowly.
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5
Taste and adjust the seasoning. The stew should be sweet, rich, and rounded — no single vegetable should assert itself above the rest. Serve as a tapa, or transfer to a warmed dish and top with a fried egg whose yolk remains liquid, allowing it to break into the stew at table.