Spanish Chickpea and Spinach Stew

The spring may need finally graced America with its presence and next week’s weather is wanting absolutely pebbly, however the evenings area unit still quite cold therefore i assumed that a heat, comforting stew remains quite an fitting instruction.

Today’s inspiration came from Espana. I created you my very own version of a Spanish classic: garbanzos con espinacas (chickpeas and spinach stew). There area unit innumerable totally different versions of this dish, some area unit drier than others, however I went for chickpeas swimming in innumerable made spaghetti sauce munificently spiced with my beloved cumin, preserved paprika and a touch (I extremely had to restrain myself 🙂 ) of cayenne pepper.

Apart from being delicious (especially daily once it's been made), this dish extremely packs a organic process punch. each chickpeas and spinach area unit sensible sources of atomic number 20 and iron, and chickpeas also are made in supermolecule, that most meat eaters area unit therefore involved concerning you not obtaining enough of. Tomatoes area unit made in a very powerful inhibitor, lycopene, still as a full army of different organic process do-gooders, like water-soluble vitamin, potassium, vitamin Bc and fat-soluble vitamin.

To high it all off, if you combine the stew up with rice, you’ll get many wholesome minerals, antioxidants, lignans, and dietary fiber too. The last one ought to keep you full for extended and curb your want to snack.

INGREDIENTS

• 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

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 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.
2. Add chopped garlic. Keep on stirring frequently until the onion is translucent and garlic softens completely and releases its beautiful aroma.
3. 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.
4. Add tomato paste to the pan and stir it into the onion and garlic mixture.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Serve over rice, sprinkled with toasted almonds and fresh parsley

Recipe From : Lazy Cat Kitchen