Espinacas con garbanzos (Sevillian spinach and chickpeas)
Seville's beloved tapa, made as a full dinner: chickpeas and spinach in a thick, rust-coloured sauce of fried bread, garlic, cumin, pimentón and a sharp splash of sherry vinegar. Forty minutes from the freezer and the cupboard, and vegan as it stands.
- Time
- 40 min (10 prep + 30 cook)
- Servings
- 4
- Per serving
- 372 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
Ingredients
- 1 lb 2 oz frozen cooked spinach, whole-leaf or chopped
- 3 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 thick slice baguette, rustic white bread
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp paprika, sweet Spanish pimentón
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 4 tsp red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar if you have it
- scant 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- two 15 oz cans, drained (about 3 1/4 cups) chickpeas, or home-cooked
Steps
- Put the frozen spinach in a wide pan with a splash of water over medium heat and cook for 6–8 minutes, until thawed and most of the liquid has gone. Tip it into a sieve, press lightly and chop it roughly. Wipe out the pan.
- Warm 4 teaspoons of the oil in the pan over medium heat. Fry the whole garlic cloves until golden and lift them out, then fry the bread in the same oil until golden on both sides.
- Blend the garlic, fried bread, cumin, coriander, pimentón, tomato sauce, vinegar, water and salt with the remaining oil into a smooth, thick paste.
- Return the pan to medium heat with whatever oil is left in it, add the spinach and stir for 2 minutes. Scrape in the paste, cook for 2 minutes, then add the chickpeas and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce coats everything.
- Taste for salt and vinegar and serve hot or just warm. Keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes 3 months; loosen with a spoonful of water when you reheat it.
Good to know
Can I use fresh spinach?
Yes, use about 800 g of fresh leaves. Wilt them in batches in a large pan, drain them well, and go on as written.
Can I use more oil?
Many home recipes use up to 100 g for this quantity, which gives a glossier sauce and comes to about 36 instead of 45.
Per
- Calories
- 129
- Protein
- (17%)
- 5 g
- Fat
- (47%)
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- (36%)
- 13 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 349 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1489 kcal goes into the pot and 1299 g of ingredients comes out as about 1155 g of food: 129 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.