espinacas con garbanzos

I can’t believe I’ve never made this most traditional dish before now, and it all came about because Kerstin @MsMarmitelover asked if I had a recipe for espinacas con garbanzos. And well, I could have found all kinds of recipes that sounded good, but knowing Kerstin, she would want a tried and tested one. So when my friend Fede @Lerele sent me a photo of a recipe on Twitter and said it was the best spinach he’s ever had… well I had to try it.

The first time I made this I didn’t quite have all the right ingredients. Rather than a large bunch of fresh spinach I had baby spinach leaves, and instead of garbanzos cooked in a puchero I just had some in a jar. Also, I only had fresh bread from the bakery, not the day-old stuff the recipe called for. But it still turned out great. I’ve since made it a few times with mostly the “proper” ingreadients. The recipe below is Fede’s recipe, with a few of my own adjustments. Another modification was using my little blender since I don’t have a mortar and pestle. And it was even better a couple of hours later once it had cooled off – amazing flavour. I have to say that Fede was right – great recipe.

Ingredients and instructions below…

sausage sarnie

So there I was with a sudden craving for a meatball sandwich (something I haven’t had in YEARS) and all I had was some chorizo criollo in the fridge. It was time to improvise! The addition of spinach meant (to me) that there wasn’t any need for a side veg or salad, making it a super-simple all-in-one kind of dish, which I served open-faced as I prefer more filling/topping than bread. It also had a whack of parmesan sprinkled on top but was more photogentic without it. Makes 2-3 servings, depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients and instructions below…

pollo al ajillo con espinacas

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted something here that wasn’t a rice or noodle dish. But today I came up with this variation on pollo al ajillo which could be served with rice or, as a low-carb option, is perfectly tasty on its own. If you don’t fancy spinach you can just leave it out. Likewise the guindilla (hot chilis). From start to finish it takes about 45 minutes.

Unlike traditional pollo al ajillo recipes, which use the whole chicken chopped up into stew-size pieces, I am using boneless chicken breast. I’ve also made something similar to this with chicken thighs. So you can see it’s pretty versatile. I throw in my garlic right at the beginning, but those who prefer less “toasted” garlic should add it with the peppercorns (and chilis) after turning the chicken pieces to brown on the other side.

Ingredients and instructions below…

how to peel a head of garlic in less than 10 seconds

Has anyone ever tried this? Looks amazing if it works. Will let you know!

pollo al ajillo

pollo al ajillo = chicken with garlic

This is a very typical Spanish dish that you can find in many tapas bars, traditionally made with stewing chicken, garlic, olive oil and dry sherry. My version is a bit spicier and uses boneless chicken breasts.  I’ve also added some portobello mushrooms & baby setas.

[click on collage to enlarge]

Recipe and instructions below the links…