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Monday, March 1, 2010

Chickpea Spinach Stew


I've had a few cans of chickpeas sitting in my cabinet for quite some time and I was hoping to make something other than hummus, my usual chickpea dish. A google search led me to this Chickpea Spinach Stew and I was intrigued. According to the blog I found this on, this is actually a Spanish tapas dish. Instead, Julia and I ate this for a few days for dinner (Ryan was out of town), although it ended up being more of a soup than a stew. I was making it one night before Julia had to head to the hospital and didn't have time to let it thicken to a stew consistency. Either way, we both really liked this dish. It had great flavor from the cumin and paprika and I loved the texture of the baked chickpeas. A crusty baguette was the perfect accompaniment to this dish!

Chickpea Spinach Stew
*makes 4-6 main dish servings

Ingredients:
-1 cup water
-10 oz baby spinach, chopped
-1 large onion, chopped (I thought this was too much, next time I'd do 1/2-3/4 an onion)
-1 can diced tomatoes
-3 large garlic cloves, minced
-1/2 tbsp paprika
-1 tsp cumin
-2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
-1 cup chicken broth (can substitute water)
-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I used much less than this, only adding where necessary)
-crusty bread for serving

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250F.
2. In a large saute pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and cook the onion until translucent. Add the spinach and 1 cup of water and simmer until the spinach is wilted and cooked through and liquids have nearly evaporated.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, cumin, and paprika. Saute until the tomatoes have softened, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the chickpeas, a little glug of olive oil, and a cup of chicken broth. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Transfer mixture to a casserole dish and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the chickpeas have softened completely and the liquids have thickened to a stew consistency.
6. Serve immediately with crusty bread.