Monday, March 14, 2011

Épinards aux pois chiches

This is a Spanish dish called espinaca con garbanzos (spinach and garbanzo beans, also known as chick-peas). I was inspired to give it a try by fellow blogger Mitch and his partner Jerry. They are moving to Spain soon and have already fallen in love with the food. They had tasted this dish in a restaurant (I read that it's commonly served as tapas) on their recent trip and wanted to make it at home. Since I had all the ingredients for this in the house, I decided to give it a whirl for Saturday's lunch.

Suprême de volaille poché, épinards aux pois chiches.

I'm glad I did. It's incredibly simple and incredibly good. I used frozen spinach and canned garbanzos. An aside about garbanzos: We have dried chick peas on hand and have used them. They cook up like any dried bean. But I swear that I can't tell the difference between those and the canned garbanzos.

The other ingredients are olive oil, fresh garlic, ground cumin, dried red pepper flakes, smoked paprika (we got a good supply of this in Paris a while back), some cubed white bread (to bind the sauce), some red wine vinegar, and a little tomato sauce (home made from our freezer). I added a splash of Spanish white wine (because I have some in the house) instead of water to make the consistency right.

At the end I squeezed in some lemon juice to freshen it up. I also added a little more hot pepper. I served it along side a chicken breast that I poached in white wine with a bay leaf. A great lunch. I had a second helping of the spinach and chick peas. Then I had another small bowl for dinner later.

9 comments:

  1. looks delish... i'll be right over ;-)

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  2. Can't wait to see a photo of the freshly groomed Callie. Do you think she will like being pampered like that, or is she likely to bite the person who will be handling her? :)

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  3. Oh my God does that look delicious! I think I may have the ingredients lying around too. Hmmm...

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  4. YUMMY! Garbanzos are one of my favorites. Even baked on a baking sheet with spices....for a crispy snack.

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  5. I would make this tonight for dinner if I hadn't already planned to make Twice-baked Goats'cheese Souffles......but it's on for tommorrow......sounds wonderful

    Victoria, Bellingham, WA

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  6. How do you eat so much every day and still manage to look trim?

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  7. I love garbanzos, and to me, there's a huge difference between the ones I boil up myself (more flavor, better texture) and canned. I like them all though.

    We've had this dish in Spain. Now I'm inspired to make it at home. Looks delish!

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  8. You are quite the chef, Walt, even when it is a meal just for you!
    Healthy and looks yummy, too.
    I'm also not against having the same thing for the next meal when I'm not hosting a guest. Why not, when that delicious taste is still in my mouth?

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  9. brent, better hurry, it's going fast.

    martine, she behaved very well, apparently!

    rick, it was very tasty and almost addictive.

    alewis, oh, that sounds like something I'd like to try.

    victoria, please tell me how you make that! We're in goat cheese country here, and it sounds very good!

    starman, I use a stand-in for my photos. I wanted Brad Pitt, but he charges too much.

    chris, I wonder why? I can't tell. The dish really easy to whip up, either way.

    mary, I'm the same way. :)

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