To encourage me in my embrace of giving up meat (pork, poultry, and chicken), Andrew bought me my own copy of Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian (I had been reading and oohing and aahing over a library copy). It’s one of those good reference cookbooks, with the recipes organized by vegetables and grains. I had a few cans of chickpeas in the cupboard and a huge bag of organic baby spinach I’d bought on sale (meaning it was on its way out the door).
Jaffrey claims that this is a common tapas dish in Seville where it is often enjoyed with a few glasses of dry sherry. I took this as inspiration and added a splash to the dish while it was cooking. I also substituted homemade vegetable stock (no salt) for the water she says to cook it with. Thus, the recipe I’ve provided here is an adapted version, as the original includes directions for cooking dried chickpeas.
It’s a nice snack or dish for tapas, but works exceptionally well for dinner. We grilled bread and used it to sop up the salty sauce left behind. I think it would go well with rice (especially basmati) and a salad of cold vegetables with simple oil and vinegar. And of course, a glass of dry sherry wouldn’t hurt.
Spanish-Style Spinach and Chickpeas
(Adapted from World Vegetarian)
Serves 2 as a main dish
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 T olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 lb spinach (chopped if not baby spinach)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne or red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-3/4 cups vegetable stock
splash dry sherry
In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir a couple of times. Add the spinach and stir until it just wilts. Add the chickpeas, the spices, salt, stock and sherry. Stir and cook on medium heat, uncovered, for 20 or so minutes. Stir occasionally. It’s ready when there is a little thick sauce left in the bottom of the pain. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Just wanted to say great job with the blog, today is my first visit here and I’ve enjoyed reading your posts so far :)
Juan