Monday 9 February 2009

catalan spinach with raisins,hazelnuts and chickpeas




My friend Alfonso made this one glorious summers day and I think I made it again 3 times that week.It is now one of my favourite ways of eating spinach and works equally well with chard.
It could not be easier to make either...
Heres what to do...
In a frying pan put a handful of raisins and hazelnuts(or almonds which I think is better) with
some olive oil.Fry until the raisins puff up and the nuts just change colour then add in some thinly sliced garlic and fry untill slightly golden.Remove from heat and place in a bowl.
In another frying pan, fry cooked chickpeas with a wee bit of chili flakes and coarse sea salt in olive oil until golden.You can add in more garlic if you are a garlic freak like me.
Wash spinach(or chard)and place in a saucepan with onions,olive oil(a splash),salt and cumin seeds(cos i love them)and let it wilt away.
Combine the above artfully on a plate with basmati rice ...its really an excuse to mix the raisin mixture with the spinach .What an excellent combination...Alfonso said you can use dates instead of raisins.I havent tried that but it must be good.

1 comment:

  1. Incredible recipe! I can imagine how amazing the raisins, hazelnuts and chickpeas all taste together. I have some chickpeas soaking now and I think I may try this tomorrow!

    Your blog is great - I love how your recipes are so different from things you see on many other blogs. I look forward to future posts!

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