Name: Chickpeas with Spinach
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 1/2 pound (1 generous cup) dried chickpeas; 7 cloves garlic, peeled; 1 onion, peeled; 1 bay leaf; 1 small ham hock (optional); Salt; About 1 1/4 pounds spinach, tough stems removed, rinsed, and coarsely chopped (about 10 loosely packed cups or 1 pound after trimming); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 slice country bread, crust removed; Generous pinch of saffron threads, warmed and crushed; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted in a dry pan until fragrant and finely ground; 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika; 1/2 cup coarsely flaked cooked salt cod (optional); 1/4 cup diced cooked ham if using ham hock or 1/2 cup if not using hock (optional); Salt and freshly ground black pepper; Dash of sherry vinegar, as needed; 4 eggs, fried sunny-side up, or 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped (optional)

Image may contain Cutlery Fork Food Meal Plant Dish Supper and Dinner

Chickpeas with SpinachLeigh Beisch

Garbanzos con espinacas

Native to Iran, chickpeas were introduced in the eastern Mediterranean by the Greeks and Romans, but most scholars believe the Carthaginians carried chickpea seeds to Spain. Spinach arrived with the Moors. This classic pairing, from the kitchens of New Castile, began as a Lenten dish. In time, the combination was rounded out with the addition of salt cod and became an everyday dish, with the faithful sacrificing the salt cod during Lent. Today, the salt cod is sometimes replaced with a ham hock during the cooking of the beans and/or diced cooked ham to the finished dish. (If you opt to include the salt cod, be sure to omit the ham hock.) The stew is enriched with a picada of fried bread and garlic and is fairly thick and substantial. It may even be topped by fried or hard-boiled eggs.

Wine

Spanish: rosé (Valdepeñas, Cigales), Tempranillo/blend (Rioja, La Mancha, Catalonia)
Non-Spanish: rosé of Pinot Noir (France, California), Cabernet/blend (Chile, Argentina)

Recipe notes