Rioja-inspired pisto with courgette, peppers, tomato and chickpeas

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 1 yellow pepper, finely diced
• 2 medium courgettes, diced
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Start the base

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 6–8 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, just until fragrant and heading in the right direction.

2. Cook the peppers properly

Add the diced peppers and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and just starting to sweeten. This is worth a little patience. You want them tender and full of flavour, not simply hot and still vaguely raw around the edges.

3. Add the courgettes

Stir in the courgettes and cook for another 5–6 minutes until they start to soften and catch a little. The whole thing should already be looking glossy and promising by this point.

4. Build the pisto

Add the tomato purée, smoked paprika and sweet paprika and cook for a minute or two so the tomato loses its raw edge and the paprika warms through properly without catching. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and give everything a good stir. Season with black pepper and a little more salt, then let it simmer gently for 15–20 minutes until thickened and rich. You want something soft, savoury and spoonable rather than watery and apologetic.

5. Add the chickpeas

Stir in the chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes until warmed through and nicely settled into the sauce. Add the red wine vinegar and most of the parsley, then have a taste. It should feel sweet from the peppers and tomatoes, gently smoky from the paprika, and just lifted enough by the vinegar to stop it all feeling too soft.

6. Serve

Spoon into warm bowls or onto plates and scatter over the remaining parsley. Serve straight away while everything still feels rich and vibrant. Very good with crusty bread, rice or roasted potatoes if you want to make it go a little further.

A couple of helpful notes
- The key here is cooking the vegetables long enough that they soften into each other without losing all shape entirely. You want pisto, not purée.
- Chickpeas are not traditional, but they make this a very useful vegan supper and sit rather nicely with the sweet peppers and tomato.
- A little extra olive oil over the top just before serving would not hurt at all if you want a slightly more generous finish.