The dish. Chickpeas and spinach are a classic Mediterranean pairing: the chickpeas turn creamy, the spinach wilts into the sauce, and lemon at the end keeps the whole pot bright. This version is a weeknight stew, one pot, about half an hour. Part of The DASH Diet, Put on the Plate.

Serves 4. About 35 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 can (400 g) diced tomatoes, no salt added
  • 2 cans (400 g each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
  • 1 cup water or unsalted vegetable broth
  • 200 g baby spinach
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Fresh parsley, chopped
  • Black pepper

Method

  1. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion with black pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, and cumin and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.
  3. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and water or broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, mashing a few chickpeas against the side of the pot to thicken the sauce.
  4. Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring until each batch wilts before adding the next.
  5. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Taste before adding any salt. Serve as is, or with whole grain bread or brown rice.

DASH note. Rinsing canned chickpeas is the single most useful habit in this recipe, since it washes away a large share of the canning sodium. The spinach wilts down to almost nothing, so do not be shy with it: two full bags are about right for four servings.