Chickpea and Spinach Tapa: review & questions for cabrita

[Guest guest]

I love chickpeas and usually dislike cooked spinach but this turned

out very well. I ate more than I ought to have eaten :-) (but who's

counting chickpeas?)

 

My questions: 1) What would you usually serve this with? (I used pita

bread because it was there.)

 

2) I don't think I tasted the cumin much (old taste buds or maybe it

just all blended well)--what's the point of frying it? (I'm not a

good or frequent cook and don't know a lot of these basic things.)

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

From cabrita_trl

(My best attempt at duplicating a tapa I once had in Sevilla)

 

3 large bunches of spinach, washed and chopped

1 can (15 oz) chick peas or 2 cups home cooked

3 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin (comino) and whole cumin seeds

1 tsp or more thyme (farigola)

Olive oil and salt to taste.

[Guest guest]

This was originally a tapa, so it would traditionally be served with bread

(baguette style)

but pita bread is good too! also rice would go well with it. I fry the cumin

because I like

the taste better this way, just using a trick from indian cooking, where they

fry the whole

spices and either add them whole or grind them after they have been fried and

cooled

down. I like the results, so I use it in other types of cooking even if it is

not Indian. I find

whole cumin can taste a bit 'sawdust like' if not fried...The original dish has

a very subtle

cumin taste but you could tell it was there. You might want to double the amount

of cumin

next time if you want a more assertive cumin taste. The amount you use has to

do with

how acidic your tomatoes are I think, so adjust to your taste buds (mine are old

too but I

think they still work LOL). Glad you enjoyed it! and yes, I think one should

be able to eat

a lot of this, it has some good nutrition and not too much fat right?

Cabrita @ los angeles (but visiting the bay area for thanksgiving now)

 

, " heidiup1 " <Heidiup1 wrote:

>

> I love chickpeas and usually dislike cooked spinach but this turned

> out very well. I ate more than I ought to have eaten :-) (but who's

> counting chickpeas?)

>

> My questions: 1) What would you usually serve this with? (I used pita

> bread because it was there.)

>

> 2) I don't think I tasted the cumin much (old taste buds or maybe it

> just all blended well)--what's the point of frying it? (I'm not a

> good or frequent cook and don't know a lot of these basic things.)

>

> Thanks!

>

>

>

> From cabrita_trl

> (My best attempt at duplicating a tapa I once had in Sevilla)

>

> 3 large bunches of spinach, washed and chopped

> 1 can (15 oz) chick peas or 2 cups home cooked

> 3 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

> 1 large onion, chopped

> 4 garlic cloves, minced

> 1 teaspoon ground cumin (comino) and whole cumin seeds

> 1 tsp or more thyme (farigola)

> Olive oil and salt to taste.

>

[Guest guest]

Cool, thanks for the info. I'll try the cumin frying again with something

else. And I'll talk to you the next time I need to justify overeating

 

(My BMI is still normal, but not sure how much longer it will remain that

way with all of these great recipes!)

 

 

cabrita wrote:

and yes, I think one should be able to eat

a lot of this, it has some good nutrition and not too much fat right?

 

 

 

 

**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest

products.

(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)