vegetable - spinach, chickpeas (garbanzos), quick meal
t=teaspoon T=tablespoon
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Spinach with Chickpeas
Not all quick dishes are good for you, especially if you choose a boxed or tinned meal with a long list of additives, chemicals and artificial flavours. This is a very quick dish, done in less than 15 minutes and a complete meal on its own. The chickpeas are a good source of protein and calcium in addition to other vitamins. Iron, more vitamins and minerals are supplied through the spinach. Though I prefer fresh spinach for this dish, frozen will do but requires more time. Ingredients are approximate and depends on whether you like it with more or less chickpeas or happen to have potatoes on hand and add them as I did when I first made this dish. Since I really enjoy spinach and garbonzos (chickpeas), this is my very favourite way to have them both!
1 sm. shallot (or sm. mild onion)
1 sm. garlic clove
+- 150 gr. fresh spinach (or a small package of frozen - see note)
+- 200 gr. cooked garbanzos, drained
a little chicken or vegetable broth (can be powdered with a little water)
80 -100 ml. cream, evaporated milk or similar product such as unsweetened almond milk
+- 1/8 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt, pepper
optional: a little left over cooked potato, quartered or diced
Chop the shallot finely. Chop the garlic coarsely. Heat a little olive oil (+- 1 t.) and lightly sauté the shallot for a few minutes before adding the garlic. Sauté a a few minutes longer. Add the chickpeas and a little chicken broth to half cover the chickpeas. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, remove most of the stems from the spinach, if any (these do not cook as quickly as the leaf part). Rinse well to remove any sand. Shake briefly to remove excess water and add to the pot. Stir once or twice, cover and allow the spinach to wilt 2 minutes. Stir again and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes.
Add the nutmeg, a little salt and pepper, the cream and the Parmesan. Stir well and cook a few minutes more to reduce the liquid a little.
Serve in a deep plate with white wine and your favourite bread. I prefer Italian chabatti or a whole wheat baguette with this.
Note: want more protein for this dish? Add a chopped or quartered hardboiled egg as a garnish. If using frozen spinach either cook with the onion, garlic and broth (add chickpeas after it thaws somewhat) or thaw enough to cut into pieces and add with the garbanzos...or take the package out the night before or in the morning. Try to find fresh spinach. It is worth the cleaning and trimming as well as being much faster from kitchen to table than frozen. Tip: for extra speed, look for fresh spinach already cleaned and bagged. By the way, the Vanomon Sauce is delicious with this. Just omit the cinnamon, and corn flour (cornstarch) and use the sauce in place of the cream.
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The Epicurean Table © 1999-2002 Patricia Conant