Chickpea and Spinach Stew

JanuaryBride's Note:

"Tomato, golden raisins and saffron transform canned chickpeans in this sweet and savory specialty of Seville from Spanish cookbook author Janet Mendel." Recipe from Food & Wine and was one of their 30 Best Fast Recipes Ever. Recommends serving it with warm, crusty bread. You can also top it off with a spoon of brown rice or some sliced chicken breast for the meat lovers in your family. NOTE: This can also be made in a crockpot by simply adding all ingredients (except the water and oil) into the crockpot and cooking 2 hours on high.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 cup water
• 10 ounces baby spinach
• 4 large garlic cloves , crushed
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1 pinch saffron thread
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch fresh ground pepper
• 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas , with their liquid
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion , finely chopped
• 1 large tomato , peeled and coarsely chopped (you may substitute a small can of diced tomatoes of you like)
• ½ cup golden raisin

Directions:

1. Pour the water into a large deep skillet and bring to a boil.
2. Add the spinach leaves and cook over high heat, tossing frequently, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain the spinach in a colander, pressing hard on the leaves to extract the liquid. Coarsely chop the spinach.
3. Using the flat side of a large knife, mash the garlic to a paste with salt and saffron. Transfer the garlic paste to a small bowl. Add the paprika, cumin, cloves and black pepper and mash until combined. Stir in 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid.
4. Wipe out the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and tomato and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spiced garlic sauce to the onion and tomato in the skillet and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the chickpeas and the remaining liquid to the skillet. Add the raisins and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the spinach, reduce the heat to moderate, and simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer the chickpea stew to 4 deep bowls, drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top, and serve.

Reviews

[lolablitz]

Wow what a great flavorful savory stew! I had to sub a couple things for what I had on hand - a package of frozen spinach (thawed) and one can of cannelini beans for one of the garbanzos. I actually liked the texture of the cannelini beans so I think I 'll do one of each next time. I thought I had golden raisins but only had some organic regular ones. I hesitated to add them, but did anyway and I'm glad I did. They really make this soup. Added a 15oz can of Red Gold diced tomatoes and the sauce. Love the saffron, it wasn't overpowered by the canned tomatoes, you can really taste it. Thanks for the keeper, I'll be making this often.

[Studentchef]

This was a really heart warming stew. It's like comfort food to me, since I mainly make such recipes during the winter. I like the blend of ingredients, and used 3/4 cup of golden raisins, because when I measured out the raisins there was still a bit left, and decided to use the whole package.

[UmmBinat]

A very good vegan stew both DD (toddler) and I enjoyed. By mistake I over cooked it a bit but I tasted it before so I think it would be exactly 5 stars. I used sea salt in replacement of the seasoning salt out of preference. I did not add ground cloves as I didn't have any on hand. The golden raisins added a very lovely sweetness so dont miss them out. I would make this again if I was looking to eat something vegetarian or vegan. Made for Think Pink Tag.