Espinacas con Garbanzos: Seville’s Classic Spinach and Chickpea Stew

Espinacas con garbanzos has been one of my favourite dishes ever since I first arrived in Spain. This simple but delicious stew of spinach and chickpeas is one of Seville’s most iconic dishes, served in pretty much every traditional bar across the city!

When I tried my first tapa of espinacas, I was amazed. Not just by how delicious it was (although that was a surprise, given that the two ingredients that make up the name don’t exactly scream ‘taste-bomb’), but by how unexpected the flavours were. It packed a fairly massive punch, with earthy spices, garlic, and none of the soap that everyone knows spinach tastes like but also denies for some reason. Loaded with cumin, it tasted like something that didn’t belong in an Andalucian kitchen at all. But as it turned out, these are tastes that are more Andalucian than any other!

A taste of Al-Andalus

The first spinach and chickpea dish was first brought to southern Spain by the Moors. Originally part of an empire stretching from the from the Middle East and across North Africa, the Moors took spinach (first cultivated in Persia) into their new Spanish territories in the eighth century. Chickpeas, too, are thought to have first grown in southeast Turkey, and probably came to the Iberian peninsula via the same route. The Moorish love for veggies (asparagus was said to be a luxury dish!), combined with difficulties in preserving fresh greens, inspired them to mix spinach with chickpeas and spices; creating the ancestor of my beloved espinacas con garbanzos!

Stocked full of nutrients, and packed with more protein than most vegan dishes, this stew was also heavily popularised by the Spanish Catholic church as a dish to eat during lent. Today, you’ll still find that this tapa is loaded with Middle Eastern spices like cumin, giving off an incredible aroma.

The best part? Not only is it easy to find at bars in Seville, it’s also super simple to make at home! A quick and easy one-pan meal, I have my version of this classic spinach and chickpeas stew on a fairly heavy rotation for midweek meals.

Espinacas con garbanzos (spinach and chickpea stew)

Serves 4

Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 20mins

Ingredients

• 500g of chickpeas, drained
• 400g of washed spinach
• 2 slices of day-old bread, torn into smallish chunks
• 1 medium-sized onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 medium-sized tomato, diced
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons of pimentón dulce (Spanish smoked and sweet paprika)
• 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and lemon juice, to season

Instructions

1. Place a large saucepan on a medium-high heat and coat with roughly 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is heated through, chuck in the torn chunks of bread and fry until golden brown.
2. Add the diced onion and sauté until it starts to become transluscent, before adding the crushed garlic, cumin powder, paprika, and chilli flakes. Once the spices and garlic become aromatic (roughly a minute), add in the diced tomato and continue to sauté for 2-3 more minutes, until the garlic is golden brown.
3. Transfer the sautéed mixture to a food processor, and add the sherry vinegar. Blitz into a chunky paste, adding olive oil if it seems too thick or dry. Season with salt as necessary.
4. Bring the saucepan back to a medium-high heat and add another 2 tablespoons of oil. Quickly sauté the spinach leaves, and add the chickpeas to the pan once the spinach starts to wilt. Once the spinach has completely wilted, return the spiced onion paste to the pan, coating the chickpeas and spinach liberally. If the mixture seems a bit too wet, cook off the excess liquid.
5. Serve immediately, with a squeeze of lemon juice!