Cuinat Eivissenc

Cuinat is Eivissenc, from Ibiza, a meatless Holy Week stew of dried peeled favas, guixes, chard, wild collejas, garlic, mint, and ñora. It is not a general potaje with a green thing thrown in. The island makes it thick, dark green, and earthy, with the legumes breaking just enough to hold the greens together. Esto es de Eivissa, no de España a secas.

The method that decides it is the order. Soak the favas and guixes overnight, cook them gently until they begin to soften, then bring in the blanched, chopped greens and the garlic and ñora picada. If the greens float in big leaves, the pot feels boiled and separate. Chop them fine and let the favas thicken around them, and every spoonful tastes like one dish.

If you're far from Ibiza, no hace falta haber pisado España. Buy dried peeled favas from a Middle Eastern or Greek shop if the Spanish shop has none. For guixes, look for almortas or grass peas, and use chickpeas if you must. The chickpeas make it rounder and less earthy, but the pot still tells the truth if the greens, ñora, garlic, and oil are right.

Don't help it with meat stock or chorizo. That's another stew, and a Lenten dish has its own strength. It is better the next day, as island cocina de cuchara, spoon food, often is. In my Margin I wrote: more rest than fire. That is the recipe trying to be kind.