Espinaca con Garbanzos
Adapted from ‘Espinaca con Garbanzos’ from America’s Test Kitchen.
Espinaca con Garbanzos, or ‘Spinach with Chickpeas’, is a delicious Spanish tapa that serves as the perfect soup or vegetarian dish. Rife with Spanish flavors like smoked paprika and saffron, the dish carries you to Andalucía where you’ll find the perfect blend of North African and European flavors.
Tips and Tricks for this dish
I call for Manchego toasts to go with this soup. You can forego the Manchego, add a different cheese, or omit altogether. The dish goes well with plain slices of baguette.
Make sure to use a baguette or a loaf with a harder crust. You don’t want the bread to be completely soggy by the time it’s immersed in the soup. A baguette or bread that’s a few days old and about to go bad would be perfect here!
It’s important you stick with smoked paprika for this dish. Spanish smoked paprika has a very distinctive taste and smell that differs wildly from paprika or Hungarian sweet paprika.
Ingredients:
1 baguette, or loaf of bread with a hard crust, divided
1/4 cup of Manchego cheese, shredded
2 cans of chickpeas, one rinsed
1 3/4 cup vegetable stock
olive oil
6 - 7 cloves garlic, minced (enough to make 3 tbsp worth)
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
kosher salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of saffron
2 tomatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
4 cups fresh spinach
Directions:
First, make the Manchego toasts. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place several slices of your baguette on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet. (Set aside the remainder of the baguette for later). Drizzle the cheese over each toast. Place in the oven and bake for 5- 10 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and the toasts have browned slightly. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool.
Place your chickpeas in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a soft boil and lower the heat. Let cook for 10 minutes.
Take the rest of rest of your baguette and cut into small, 1/4 or 1/2 inch pieces until you have about a cup’s worth. Set aside. Have your tomatoes, garlic, and spices out and ready to go. This next step will be quick.
In a medium-sized sauté pan, heat enough olive oil over medium heat to cover the bottom of the pan (about 4 tbsp or so). Heat until shimmering, then add the bread pieces and sauté in the oil until they’ve hardened and browned (about 2 -3 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds - 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the smoked paprika, the cumin, salt, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and saffron to the pan and stir briefly. Add the tomatoes and stir until incorporated with the spices and bread. Add the sherry vinegar and cook for another minute. Take off heat.
Once your chickpeas are ready, add the spinach in handfuls. Let each handful wither until you add the next batch. Do this until all of it is incorporated into the chickpeas. Add the tomato, bread, and spice mixture and stir so everything is incorporated. Do a final taste test here. Add more salt or sherry vinegar as needed.
Serve in bowls with the Manchego toasts on the side. Enjoy!
