Middle Eastern Chickpeas with Spinach
From Moosewood Restauarant's Low-Fat Favorites
Gwen gave me a chickpea recipe 2 years ago that was almost exactly like this, minus the spinach, but when I asked for it again recently she had no recollection of it. I think this might actually be the same recipe, and maybe she just left out the spinach part? Either way, I liked her recipe, and I liked this one, too. The book recommends serving it over orzo, with the sauce on top. I just ate it by itself with the sauce.
Sauce:
2/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
dash of salt
Beans:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cubed
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
pinch of saffron
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, with liquid reserved (16 oz can)
10 oz fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed, coarsely chopped (2 average-sized bags of the prewashed stuff from the grocery store)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Cooked orzo (optional)
Combine the yogurt, garlic, mint and salt in a bowl and set aside to blend the flavors.
In a large skillet, saute the onions in the oil on medium heat until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, coriander, cumin, and saffrom, and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chickpeas and 1/4 cup of their liquid and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are just tender, adding more of the reserved liquid if necessary. Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach is bright and wilted. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper.
Serve immediately over orzo, topped with the yogurt sauce.
Gwen gave me a chickpea recipe 2 years ago that was almost exactly like this, minus the spinach, but when I asked for it again recently she had no recollection of it. I think this might actually be the same recipe, and maybe she just left out the spinach part? Either way, I liked her recipe, and I liked this one, too. The book recommends serving it over orzo, with the sauce on top. I just ate it by itself with the sauce.
Sauce:
2/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
dash of salt
Beans:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cubed
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
pinch of saffron
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, with liquid reserved (16 oz can)
10 oz fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed, coarsely chopped (2 average-sized bags of the prewashed stuff from the grocery store)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Cooked orzo (optional)
Combine the yogurt, garlic, mint and salt in a bowl and set aside to blend the flavors.
In a large skillet, saute the onions in the oil on medium heat until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, coriander, cumin, and saffrom, and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chickpeas and 1/4 cup of their liquid and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are just tender, adding more of the reserved liquid if necessary. Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach is bright and wilted. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper.
Serve immediately over orzo, topped with the yogurt sauce.
Comments
Wonder if I could get Gaby to eat chick peas.
I bet it would also be good over the brown basmati rice I've got in the pantry, too.
Funny thing - I have a container of it in my fridge right now and a few days ago when I heated some up for lunch, I added spinach and I liked it. I must have been cosmically influenced by you!