Moorish-Style Chickpea and Spinach Stew

[Jose Andres]

Moorish-Style Chickpea and Spinach Stew

Serves 4 as Soup.

This was one of the first dishes my wife, Tichi, cooked for me, soon after we were married. It was also the cause for the most expensive telephone call we ever made, since she talked to her mother through the entire cooking process. The result was worth every penny. Now it's one of our Sunday specials--especially through the winter months.

• 9 oz dried garbanzos (chickpeas)
  
• 1 pinch baking soda
  
• 1/4 c Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  
• 2 oz sliced white bread, crusts removed
  
• 2 T pimenton (Spanish sweet paprika)
  
• 1 pinch Spanish saffron threads
  
• 2 T Spanish sherry vinegar
  
• 1/2 lb spinach, washed
  
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• salt to taste
  
• white pepper to taste
  

The day before you plan to cook the stew, place the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with cold water. Add the baking soda, stir, and set aside to soak overnight. The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas.

In a big saucepan, combine the chickpeas with 2.5 quarts of water. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chickpeas are tender, about 2 hours. Every 10 minutes or so, add 1/4 cup of cold water to slow down the simmering. By the end, the water should have reduced so it is barely covering the chickpeas. Turn off the heat and let the chickpeas sit in the water.

Heat the olive oil in a small saute pan over a medium-low flame. Add the garlic and cook until it is browned, about 3 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan and set it aside. Add the bread to the pan and brown it on both sides, about 1 minute each side. Remove the bread and set it aside.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Add the pimenton and saffron to the pan, and then immediately add the sherry vinegar to prevent the pimenton from burning. Leave the pan off the heat.

In a mortar, smash the reserved garlic and the toasted bread to make a very thick paste.

Bring the chickpeas back to a low boil and add the spinach. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pimenton mixture along with the garlic paste. You should have a thick, stewy sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Notes:

When the chickpeas are cooked and soft, you should have only around one finger's depth (1/2 inch) of water left in the bottom of the pan. If there is more, remove some water from the pan before adding the rest of the ingredients.

If you don't have time to cook for 2 or 3 hours, use 3 cups good-quality chickpeas from a can or jar. Just add some extra water before you cook the spinach, in case there isn't enough in the jar.

From Tapas, published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers. Copyright 2005 by Jose Andres. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Soup, Main Dish, Vegan, Beans, Vegetables, Dinner, Spanish/Portugese

( RG1693 )