On a recent adventure to Spain, I smuggled the following items back home in my backpack: several canisters of hot smoked paprika (pimentón), a jar of smoked piquillo peppers, several cans of assorted fish/seafood (sardines, of course, tuna, razor clams), Marcona almonds, chorizo, morcilla, jamon iberico de bellota, extra virgin olive oil, aged manzanilla sherry, and 65-year-old sherry vinegar. Confession: I have no self-control when it comes to food.

Longing to be back, wandering around and eating my through Spain, I decided that the next best thing (a distant second) was to recreate a bit of Spain here at home. The change in weather has me craving warming soups and stews. Spinach and chickpeas, otherwise known as garbanzos con espinacas, is that perfect combination of hearty and comforting.

There are many versions of chickpeas and spinach, some drier, some soupier. The dish is typically thickened with toasted bread and seasoned with smoked paprika and cumin. I prefer mine heavily spiced, but of course you can always adjust to suit your taste buds. I also like to finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and quality aged sherry vinegar, the latter, which in my opinion, is that extra touch that really elevates the dish.

A high-quality, aged sherry vinegar is not as sharp as other types of vinegar. It possesses complexity with a subtle sweetness and nuttiness. True sherry vinegar will be labled as Vinagre de Jerez; the least expensive are aged for about 6 months, the moderate ones (Reserva) are aged for 2-3 years, while Gran Reserva are aged for at least 10 years.

As for the stuffed piquillo peppers, I decided on a simple filling of goat’s cheese (chèvre), mixed with an assortment of fresh herbs (chives, parsley, basil and/or oregano). If I planned this out a little better, I would have opted for a whipped salt cod (bacalao) filling. The piquillo peppers were drained, generously stuffed, and then placed under the broiler until the cheese is warmed through (chèvre doesn’t get too melt-y). I also served with a tangy red pepper sauce, which also happens to pair well with the spinach and chickpeas.

Chickpeas and Spinach

8 ounces dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling over the finished dish
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
10 ounces *organic spinach leaves
5 ounces picada (recipe below)
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika
2 teaspoons toasted, ground cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Good quality sherry vinegar

Drain the chickpeas that have been soaking overnight in a large colander. Add the chickpeas to a large pot or Dutch oven. Add water to cover by several inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, but not mushy, about an hour (more or less, depending on the age of the chickpeas). Skin any foam that floats to the surface. When the chickpeas are tender, drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté until golden, about 1 minute. Add the spinach, cover and cook until the spinach just wilts, a minute or two. Add the chickpeas and 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Simmer for about 5 minutes, crushing some of the chickpeas with the spinach. Add the picada, paprika and cumin. Season with salt. Cook another 5-6 minutes, until heated through. Taste, adding more salt as needed.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and generous splash of sherry vinegar.

Note: make sure your spinach is organic, as most conventional spinach is heavily sprayed with pesticides; 97 percent of conventional spinach samples contained pesticide residues. Conventional spinach had relatively high concentrations of permethrin, a neurotoxic insecticide (EWG’s 2018 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce).

Picada

You won’t need all the picada for the spinach and chickpeas. Try heating a skillet with olive oil and fry the picada (with Spanish chorizo, yum). Fry an egg and serve on top.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices (~4 ounces) day-old country style bread, crusts cut off
2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

Heat the oil in a skillet. When hot, add the bread and cook until golden, about 3 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove and set on paper towels to drain. Tear the bread into small pieces.

Add the garlic to the same skillet, and cook another 3 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove and peel the garlic.

With a mortar and pestle, pound the toasted bread and garlic until you have rough breadcrumbs. Add 1/4 cup of the chickpea cooking liquid and a scant 1/3 cup of chickpeas. Continue to pound in mortar and pestle. Add another 1/4 quarter cup of chickpea cooking liquid and another 1/3 cup of chickpeas. Pound until you achieve the consistency of coarsely mashed potatoes.

Herbed Goat’s Cheese Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Red Pepper Sauce

10-12 jarred piqullo peppers
10 ounces goat’s cheese (chèvre), room temperature
4 tablespoons chopped chives, plus extra for garnish
4 tablespoons fresh, chopped parsley (in combination with a bit of chopped basil or oregano if you like)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Red pepper sauce to serve (recipe below)
Chopped chives for garnish

Preheat broiler. Drain the piquillo peppers. Combine the goat’s cheese, chives and herbs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Generously stuff the peppers with the cheese filling. Place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Place under the broiler for 7 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is warmed through.

Place a spoonful of red pepper sauce on a plate. Top with the piquillo peppers. Sprinkle with chopped chives.

Red Pepper Sauce

1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium tomato
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 spicy fresh chile pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 slice sourdough bread
10 blanch whole almonds
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Char the red pepper over open flame on the stovetop. Turn every few minutes with metal tongs until charred on all sides. When cool enough to handle, remove charred skin and discard. Seed pepper. Place pepper in blender bowl.

Preheat oven to 400F. Roast tomato, garlic, and chile for 15 minutes, until charred in spots. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from tomato and chile, peel garlic, and seed chile. Place in blender bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Add bread and toast bread until golden brown. Flip and repeat on the other side. Set aside on paper towels to drain. In the same skillet, toast almonds until lightly golden. Tear bread into pieces and add to the blender, along with the almonds and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Blend, adding the remaining olive oil in a steady stream until smooth.