I’ve already posted a nice recipe for espinacas con garbanzos here, a very traditional version, and it’s delicious. But it turns out that I almost never make this dish the same way twice and the other day I looked up a few more recipes, got confounded by some that add tomato (wut) and then made this version, which is kind of what I’ve been doing for a while, except this time with added ground almonds (game changer!). So here it is. Oh, and as I didn’t have any bread in the house I used some olive oil regañas (kind of a cracker, and as they were already baked with olive oil I didn’t have to fry them). I like using the baby spinach because then you don’t have to boil anything and the spinach comes out much brighter and tender, and (I think) has more flavour.
Ingredients and instructions below…
- 560 gr jar of garbanzos (rinsed and drained = 400 gr)
- 350 gr baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
- 250-500 ml hot broth
- 1-2 tsp smoked paprika (hot or sweet)
- 6 tbsp olive oil (approx)
- 1-2 tsp cumin
- dash of sherry vinegar
- 6-8 cloves of garlic – half sliced, half minced
- 2 slices of day-old bread
- a handful of toasted almonds
Fry the 3-4 sliced garlic cloves in olive oil until nicely browned. Remove from oil and add the two slices of bread. Fry those on both sides until they are crispy and toasted, remove and cut into small slices. When the garlic and bread has cooled put them in a blender with a handful of toasted almonds and buzz them (pulsing) until they resemble coarse bread crumbs. You could also use the more traditional method of a mortar and pestle, but hey, life’s too short.
Sautée the 3-4 minced garlic cloves in olive oil until almost turning brown, then add the cumin and smoked paprika. Toss in the bread mixture, stir it up, then add the broth (start with 200 ml, you can add more later if you need to). Then add the drained garbanzos. On a medium heat start adding the baby spinach a handful at a time, stirring it in each time until it wilts. You may want to add more hot broth at this point if it’s looking dry. Once all the spinach is wilted add a splash of sherry vinegar to perk things up a bit, stir it up and it’s done.
