Potaje de Garbanzos - Chickpea and Spinach Broth
Before moving to Spain 20 years ago from the UK I doubt whether I'd ever seen
or heard of a chickpea never mind eaten one! Yet nowadays it's a great favourite of mine in all kinds of hearty
stews. Many of these stews use chorizo to add a strong flavour to them and
combine various vegetables to create a really healthy meal.
The one described here is a fairly watery broth which combines the humble
chickpea with spinach (another ingredient that I wasn't aware of in the UK, it
was just something that Popeye ate!).
Chickpea Broth ingredients:
For 6 to 8 people
½kg of dried chickpeas
½kg of spinach
125g salt cod
1 large onion chopped finely
2 medium sized tomatoes peeled
3 cloves of garlic
1 laurel leaf
parsley
3 soup spoons of olive oil
1 soup spoon of flour
1 teaspoon of paprika
salt
pepper
water
Preparation:
Cover the chickpeas in warm water and soak them overnight.
Drain the chickpeas and put them in a large pan with 2 1/2 or 3 litres of
hot water, 2 cloves of garlic that have been peeled but not chopped, the
laurel leaf and the salt cod. Do not soak the salt cod in advance as this
provides the salt for the dish. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and
simmer for about 2 hours.
Wash the spinach thoroughly and peel and chop the tomatoes. Once the
chickpeas have been boiling for 2 hours add the spinach and the tomatoes and
cook for another 30 minutes.
In a small frying pan add the 3 soup spoons of olive oil and fry the onions
for about 5 or 10 minutes until they go transparent. Add 1 clove of crushed
garlic, about a teaspoon of parsley, the paprika and the flour. Mix this
well and continue to fry over a low heat for about 5 minutes taking care not
to burn the mix. Add this to the saucepan, check that it doesn't need any
more salt and add some pepper. Cook for a further 30 minutes.
Serve in soup bowls with crusty bread.
|
