Chickpea and Spinach Saute

This makes a nice light lunch or, I suppose, a good side-dish at dinner. The slight bitterness of the spinach, the blandness of the chickpeas and the sweetness of the pine nuts make a good combination of flavors and textures. It's nice and warm, which I think is a lovely way to eat chickpeas (as opposed to the usual cold chickpea salad). The book I got this recipe from suggests you could also serve it over rice.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon pine nuts

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped onion or shallot (I just used one shallot)

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic (I used one clove)

3 cups baby spinach, washed

1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons water

salt and pepper to taste

you'll also need:

medium skillet or wok

lid to cover skillet or wok

strainer

1. over a low heat, toast your pine nuts until they're lightly browned, stirring often so they don't burn. When done, remove them from heat and set aside.

2. increase heat to medium. Heat the olive oil, and add your onion and garlic. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

3. add your spinach, chickpeas and 2 tablespoons water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put the lid on it.

4. cook, covered, until spinach has wilted and chickpeas are warm, about 5 minutes.

5. serve, and scatter the toasted pine nuts on top.

I got this recipe from Serves One. Once again, a truly worthwhile cookbook that I recommend getting.