2014-01-23



Lately I’ve gotten into kind of a funk with my dinner cooking abilities. I’m finding myself tired and uninspired at the end of the day and reverting to my old favorites that are starting to get a little boring.

 

Luckily for me, my coworker Madeleine is a culinary school graduate and loves swapping recipes (score!). She found this chickpea and spinach recipe on Smitten Kitchen and swore that it was one of her current faves.

 

When I heard that the bases for this dish were chickpeas and greens I thought it would be good in a healthy kind of way. Wow, was I surprised! The Spanish-style spices give it serious depth and flavor and the bread mixture feels hearty and warm.

 

Even my very omnivore of a husband thoroughly enjoyed it! I recommend on a cold winter night served on it’s own or on toasted Italian bread sprinkled with olive oil. It also serves well as a cold salad the next day.

 



Serves 4. Adapted from this Smitten Kitchen recipe See my version of this Spanish-style kale and chickpeas dish below.

 

Ingredients:

- Two 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 6 tblspns olive oil

- 1 head of kale (or any green!), washed and chopped

- A 1-inch slice from a loaf of hard Italian or French bread, crusts removed and cubed

- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used bottled Rao’s)

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 1/2 tspn ground cumin

- Pinch of red pepper flakes (add more for spice)

- 1 1/2 tblspns red wine vinegar

- 1 tspn paprika

- Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

- Heat half of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

- Add the kale with a pinch of salt and stir well.

- Remove when the leaves are turn bright green, set aside.

- Heat 2 more tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

- Fry the bread for about 5 minutes or until golden brown all over.

- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the garlic, cumin and pepper.

- Cook for 1 minute more or until the garlic is nutty brown.

- Transfer the bread mix to a food processor or blender with the vinegar, and mash to a paste.

- Return the mixture to the pan and add the drained chickpeas and tomato sauce.

- Stir until the chickpeas have absorbed the flavors and are hot.

- Mix in cooked kale.

- Season with salt and pepper to taste.

- Sprinkle with paprika.

- Enjoy!

 

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