Chickpea and spinach stew with tomatoes

Chickpeas turn soft as butter with cold water and a pinch of baking soda, not hours of boiling. With seasonal spinach, tomatoes and red paprika, they make a meat-free stew that fills you up and costs little. Soak the chickpeas overnight. The next day, they need about an hour of boiling and some 20 minutes for the stew itself.

Ingredients

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas

   In the evening, cover the chickpeas with 1.5 litres of cold water and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Leave them for 8–12 hours, then drain and rinse well.

   Use at least three times as much water as chickpeas, because they swell to almost double their size.

2. Boil the chickpeas

   Cover them with 1 litre of fresh cold water and bring to the boil, skimming off the foam. Simmer on low heat for 50–60 minutes, until they mash easily between your fingers. Drain, and keep 300 ml of the water.

3. Fry the vegetables

   Heat the oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Fry the finely chopped onion and carrot for 8 minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Add the crushed garlic for the last minute.

4. Add the spices off the heat

   Take the pot off the hob, add the tomato purée and paprika, and stir for 20 seconds. Pour in the tomatoes at once and put the pot back on the heat.

   Paprika turns bitter in seconds, so add it to slightly cooled oil.

5. Cook the stew

   Add the chickpeas, the 300 ml of saved water, the salt and the black pepper. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats the chickpeas.

6. Add the spinach

   Roughly chop the spinach and add it in three batches, stirring. After 3–4 minutes the leaves wilt and turn dark green. Then add the dill.

7. Add lemon and rest

   Take the pot off the heat and squeeze half a lemon into the stew. Cover and leave for 5 minutes to settle.

How to serve

Serve with a slice of toasted bread and a lemon wedge on the side.

Per serving (approximate): 390 kcal · protein 17 g · fat 14 g · carbohydrates 48 g