Fried chickpeas with chorizo and spinach

Straight from the New York Times' (Wed Feb 24 2010) Mark Bittman (I am a fan), this simple dish was perfect on a cold night. The chorizo is the cured  & dried Spanish kind, not the loose fresh Mexican kind. Frying the chick peas gives them has a nice crunch they normally don't have.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
2 cups cooked chickpeas, as dry as possible (use paper towels or a dish towel to blot them dry)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 oz dried chorizo diced
1/2 lb spinach
1/4 cup Sherry (I skipped this)
1 to 2 cups bread crumbs

Heat the broiler

Add 3 tbs olive oil to skillet big enough to hold beans in a single layer over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add chickpeas, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium  and cook, shaking pan to brown chickpeas, - about 10 minutes. The beans will get a nice color.

Add chorizo and cook another 5-8 minutes,

until the chorizo gives up some color and starts to crisp.

Remove chickpeas and chorizo to a bowl

Add remaining oil to the pan, when hot add the spinach, season with salt and pepper,

Cook over medium low heat until spinach is very soft and almost all liquid has evaporated. This will cook very quickly.

Add chickpeas and chorizo back to pan, toss to combine.

Add bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.

Put pan under broiler to lightly brown the top.

 Serve hot or room temperature.

This the the second time I've made this. It is surprisingly filling and delicious!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
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