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Leo Shaw, Garbanzos con Espinacas

My cooking habits are a lot like my music habits: instead of keeping plenty of old favorites in the rotation, I tend to make new dishes over and over until I finally move on to something else. But one recipe I haven’t dropped is garbanzos con espinacas, a stewy mix of chickpeas and spinach with plenty of smoked paprika. I first tried it while trying to stay vegetarian in Spain, where so many dishes start with pig parts or seafood. Now I make a batch almost every other week – sometimes alongside a potato tortilla if I feel like keeping the Spanish theme going. It makes a good side for big meals and a good snack for fridge foraging – plus it’s also one of the only ways I’ve found to mask that chickpeas-from-a-can taste (it’s even better with dry beans). I go off the Smitten Kitchen recipe, but the sans-bread version by Ximena from Lobsterquad is also great. And going heavy on the olive oil is always a good idea.