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My Spanish-Inspired Chickpea and Spinach Delight is A Flavor Fiesta! My recipe is an attempt to recreate a dish my wife and I so loved on our recent trip to Spain. It is so simple to make yet packed with so much flavor.
Jump to RecipeAdapting food to your likings:
As I begin to write this post, I just made this dish again for a Spanish tapas dinner party we are having with friends. This time it was even better. I will tell you why in a minute. When, we had this dish in Spain, and we had it a few times, it was different in each location. I am not sure if that was a regional difference (we traveled through many cities) or a slightly different recipe. The one here is totally vegan. The one I just made added milk and chicken stock. So the end result was creamier. If I wanted to keep it vegan, I could use a plant based milk and get a similar result. Bottom line is I like the creamier nature of this dish.
The Local Spanish Food:
The food in Spain was so good. We went around the Country hitting tapas places and open air markets and specifically, in Barcelona – LA BOQUERIA. I absolutely loved these markets. There was so much variety from fresh meats and fish, to veggies, to pastries and places to sit and eat. It was a foodies dream place. By eating at these traditional places – the tapas restaurants really enabled us to have a more local experience and feel of the city and its food.
Assembling the dish:
Assembling this dish could not be much easier, especially if you use frozen spinach and canned chickpeas. I have hear a number of chefs say, and I agree, that these are two ingredients that you do not lose much using the frozen and canned kinds. The most complicated step in this whole recipe is cooking down the tomatoes, onions and peppers with the aromatics. When that is completed, it is thrown in a blender to puree. Once pureed, you cook it in the pan, add the chickpeas, and eventually, the spinach. Just let it simmer. Check the spice level and voila.
The cast of characters.
Creating the spinach and chickpeas.
The Spanish-Inspired Chickpea and Spinach Delight: A Flavor Fiesta!
Spanish-Inspired Chickpea and Spinach Delight
Ingredients
- 2 Cans Chickpeas drained
- 1 Package – 10 ounces Frozen spinach
- 1 Medium Yellow onion diced
- 1/2 29 ounce can Crushed tomatoes
- 1 piece Old bread rough cut
- 3 Cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp Sherry wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Spanish olive oil divided
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Cumin
- 1 Tsp Black pepper
- 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tsp Cayenne
- 1 Tbsp Spanish paprika
Instructions
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Begin by Rinsing the chickpeas well under cold running water. Let sit out in your sink.
Heat a a skillet on medium heat and add 1 tablespoons of extra virgin Spanish olive oil, add the bread and spices and cook for 2 minutes. Take out the bread and next, add the garlic and diced onions and mix with the oil and spices for 4 – 5 minutes. At this point, add the tomatoes to the skillet and stir. Pour this mixture into a blender including the bread. Once pureed, add back to the skillet and simmer for a couple of minutes. Now, add in the chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the spinach and simmer for 10 minutes. If there is no liquid in the pan, add a little water.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Spanish Sabores – httpss://spanishsabores.com/espinacas-con-garbanzos-spinach-chickpeas/
Hello, do you thaw out the frozen spinach?
Yes to do. You can use fresh spinach as well. Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you! Can’t wait to make it.