Chickpea Stew With Spinach

The importance of incorporating legumes into the daily diet resonates with more force. They are a very nutritious food and it is necessary to eat them more often since a large part of the population does not eat it in the recommended amounts.  

They can be prepared in many presentations to have more variety. Soups and stews are classic recipes and each region usually has its most typical dishes. However, nowadays the lack of time or the fear of saturated fats has been separating them from many menus.  

Chickpea stew with spinach cooks relatively easily and in a short time, especially if you use canned chickpeas. In addition, you can take advantage of a free afternoon to prepare more servings and keep them in the fridge or freezer.

Chickpea stew with spinach

In this recipe, legumes and vegetables are combined in equal parts with what the result is a healthy and  light. Do you dare to prepare it? Don’t forget the bread to soak the sauce.

Ingredients needed to prepare 4 servings

• 400 grams of cooked chickpeas.  
• 200 grams of spinach.
• 3 or 4 hard boiled eggs.
• 1 small onion.
• 4 or 5 tablespoons of tomato sauce.
• 2 cloves of garlic  
• Salt.
• 1 bouillon cube (optional).
• Black pepper.
• Extra virgin olive oil.  

Step by Step

• To start, peel and dice the onion and fry in a pan with olive oil. When it starts to turn golden brown, add the tomato sauce. Let reduce and reserve.

• Next, sauté the garlic and spinach, well cleaned and cut , in another pan. When they take on a darker green color, remove from heat.  
• Prepare a casserole to cook the chickpea stew. Pour the onion and tomato sauce, and add about 350 milliliters of water. Then add the chickpeas (well drained if they are canned). Salt and pepper to taste and if desired you can put a stock cube.  
• After 5 minutes, add the spinach and cook all together for 5 more minutes. If the stew is very dry, add a little more water.  
• After this time, turn off the heat and add the hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half. Cover and let it rest for a moment so that the latter acquire the flavor of the sauce. It is ready to serve.

Second option to prepare the recipe for chickpeas with spinach

Another way to cook this dish faster, but with the same flavor. A complete alternative suitable for a vegan diet as this time eggs or any other ingredient of animal origin are not added.

Ingredients for 2 servings

• Half an onion.  
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of water.  
• 3 handfuls of baby spinach .
• 200 grams of cooked or canned chickpeas.
• Salt and extra virgin olive oil.  

As elaborated

• Peel and mince the garlic and onion finely. Then fry them with a little olive oil in a pot or casserole. Leave between 3 and 4 minutes over low heat.  
• At the same time, wash and drain the bunches of spinach and also add to the casserole. Sauté for two minutes.  
• Then pour in the cooked chickpeas and sauté for several minutes. Then, cover all the ingredients with the water, add salt and pepper and cover. Cook over low heat, since in this way all the flavors have just been combined.  

• If you have vegetable broth already prepared or frozen, you can change it for water. The function is the same and instead the dish will have much more flavor.  
• After 20 minutes it is ready to eat.  

To give a more pronounced touch of flavor, add other ingredients to the sauce. Try celery, bell pepper, zucchini or leek, and experiment with the spices, including sweet paprika and bay leaf.

Chickpea stew with spinach: one more dish to eat legumes

This recipe is an excellent opportunity to incorporate legumes into your diet. This is interesting at the nutritional and health level since it has been observed that they help reduce the incidence of some chronic diseases. But not only this, since limiting the intake of proteins of animal origin and replacing a part with more vegetable proteins is positive at an environmental level.

If you do not have time to cook it at the moment,  you can leave it prepared the day before or have some portions in the freezer. In fact, it is almost preferable since the flavors settle over time and the broth becomes thicker.  

Although it is not a particularly difficult recipe, it can be even simpler if you use frozen spinach and canned chickpeas. And in the case of not having these two ingredients, you can vary and use cabbage, chard, lentils or beans.  

In the case of suffering problems with the consumption of legumes (poor digestion or gas), you can reduce the amount of chickpeas and add a little more vegetables. Seasoning the dish with cumin, bay leaf or fennel can help reduce flatulence.  

Chickpeas provide fiber, protein, and slow-absorbing carbohydrates. Spinach is a source of vitamins A, C and group B and minerals such as iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.

Therefore, it is a complete dish to which you do not need to add anything more than a yogurt or a piece of fruit for dessert.  Or yes … maybe a nice slice of bread to go with it!