Spanish chickpea and spinach stew
Spanish chickpea and spinach stew
The spring might have finally graced us with its presence and next week’s weather is looking positively beachy, but the evenings are still quite cold so I thought that a warm, comforting stew is still quite a fitting recipe.
Today’s inspiration came from Spain. I made you my own version of a Spanish classic: garbanzos con espinacas (chickpeas and spinach stew). There are lots of different versions of this dish, some are drier than others, but I went for chickpeas swimming in lots of rich tomato sauce generously spiced with my beloved cumin, smoked paprika and a hint (I really had to restrain myself 🙂 ) of cayenne pepper.
Apart from being delicious (especially a day after it has been made), this dish really packs a nutritional punch. Both chickpeas and spinach are good sources of calcium and iron, plus chickpeas are also rich in protein, which most meat eaters are so concerned about you not getting enough of. Tomatoes are rich in a powerful antioxidant, lycopene, as well as a whole army of other nutritional do-gooders, such as vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K.
To top it all off, if you pair the stew up with brown rice, you’ll get plenty of heart-healthy minerals, antioxidants, lignans, and dietary fiber too. The last one should keep you full for longer and curb your desire to snack.
- 2 tbsp / 30 ml oil (I used olive oil)
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 3 tsp cumin (ground)
- 1½ tsp smoked paprika (ground)
- ¼-½ tsp cayenne pepper or hot chilli powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2-3 tsp brown sugar
- black pepper, to taste
- 2 x 400 g tins of peeled plum tomatoes
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1½ cups of cooked chickpeas
- 200 g of spinach
- a handful of almond flakes, toasted
- fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
- cooked rice (I used brown), to serve with
- Heat up the oil in a large frying pan (ideally with a lid). Add chopped onion and fry on a low heat until almost translucent, stirring from time to time.
- Add chopped garlic. Keep on stirring frequently until the onion is translucent and garlic softens completely and releases its beautiful aroma.
- Add all the ground spices to the fried onion and garlic mixture and stir them around well. Fry them off gently for a minute or two stirring the whole time as they burn easily.
- Add tomato paste to the pan and stir it into the onion and garlic mixture.
- Squash plum tomatoes with a potato masher in a separate bowl before adding them to the pan. Add tomatoes to the pan, salt and half of the sugar. Let the sauce thicken by simmering it on a low heat with no lid on. Give the sauce a good stir from time to time.
- Once the sauce thickens, taste it and season with some black pepper and more sugar if needed. I used 3 tsp of sugar in this recipe as my tomatoes were quite tangy, but you may not need as much.
- Stir in cooked chickpeas and let them warm through. Now add in the spinach and place the lid on to let spinach wilt and cook in the steam. If you are not in a rush, you can gently pan-fry the spinach in a little olive oil and garlic separately and then add it to the dish, but that’s optional.
- Serve over rice, sprinkled with toasted almonds and fresh parsley.
Left out the almonds Cuz I’m allergic but I added a little guacamole and it is sooo tasty! My hubby like it too
Thanks for this
Julia
Since then, I've made it three more times, each time making the tomato sauce from scratch. The first of those times, I followed the recipe pretty exactly and the result was excellent and -- thankfully! -- better than the version with the commercial sauce. Since then, I've followed the method but haven't paid too much attention to the quantities, letting taste be my guide on the tomato sauce. The second time, I didn't have any fresh spinach on hand so I cooked some frozen spinach and added that and also added some peas. I liked the addition of the peas, so the last time I made it I used fresh spinach and also the peas.
Honestly, it's a bit like a tapestry and allows one to weave one's own story into it. It has crossed my mind that Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce would likely be terrific with this dish and I may try that at some point. It would be less spicy but also, I suspect, delicious. Next time, I'm going to add some carrot brunoise to the onions and see how that goes instead of the peas.
Thanks so much for a delicious recipe and a fun method. :)
If i was to divide this meal down to serve one - does that mean i only use about 60g of cooked chickpeas?
It looks delicious!
Thanks so much :-)
Means I can enjoy a portion for dinner tonight - very keen to tuck in.
Have a lovely day :-)
It was absolutely delicious and I will definitely make it again.
I will definitely be making this again.
Thank you and Hapoy New Year.
Not sure why I've given it 4 stars but I have to hold a bit back! It's just what a jaded palate needs!
Thank you for your lovely feedback. It made my day! :) Ania
I guess it's a matter of personal preference. I would rather pair it up with rice, couscous or quinoa if I'm honest, but feel free to override me! :) Hope you'll like it.
Fabulous, I hope you'll like the end result. My pleasure! I love coming up with recipes especially when I get so much love for them so thank YOU for commenting! :) x
From sunny Scotland :-)
I love Scotland! I spent a few summers there and have some awesome memories :) Beautiful country!
I don't know about calorie count, I'm afraid, but there are plenty of sites (like this one) which could help you calculate it if you wish. As for the nutritional facts, I do talk about it in the copy of this post.
Ania
I added some vegan chorizo.
With vegan love, from The Netherlands
Sending love back from sunny Greece :)
Ania
Love receiving our emails xx
Have a lovely weekend!
Ania x