Chickpea Stew With Spinach and Chorizo

Sergi Millet in “Food & Wine 2006: an entire year of recipes” ---------- “This stew, like many in Catalonia, starts with a sofrito, a thick sauce made with onions and tomatoes. Once you get the ingredients in the pot, there’s not much to do besides enjoy the aroma wafting from this hearty stew as it slowly cooks.” ---------- If you follow the recipe as written, allow for overnight soaking and 2.5 hours cooking of the chickpeas. If you use canned chickpeas instead, just throw them in at the proper time of the recipe. I used canned. Also, keep in mind that the chorizo is an active flavor ingredient, so you want some strong flavor: I used up leftover chicken and bacon instead, so I added some extra of the spices plus some cayenne to boost the flavoring of the bacon. I also threw a julienned potato in, but make sure it has time to cook. Frozen spinach works fine

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2  cups dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight and drained
• 6  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  large onion, finely diced
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons  minced rosemary
• 1  bay leaf
• 28  ounces Italian tomatoes, chopped, 1 cup juices reserved
• 1⁄2 lb  soft cooked chorizo sausage, sliced 1/4 thick
• 1  lb spinach, thick stems discarded

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, cover the chickpeas with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until tender, about 2 hours; add more water as necessary to maintain the level. Drain; reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
2. In a medium enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, rosemary and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened, about 7 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook over moderately high heat until sizzling, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the sliced chorizo, the cooked chickpeas and their reserved cup of cooking water and the cup of reserved tomato juices and bring the chickpea to a simmer. Stir in half of the spinach and cook until it is wilted, then stir in the remaining half of the spinach. Simmer the chickpea stew over moderately low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.