Chef Isabel
Cigrons a la Catalana
Cigrons a la Catalana are Catalonia's chickpeas cooked in a dark sofregit, loosened with their own broth, then thickened with almond-garlic picada while pine nuts and raisins give the sweet Catalan note.
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Garbanzos con Tagarninas
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Garbanzos con tagarninas belongs to the spoon food of Andalucía and La Mancha: chickpeas, young wild thistle, pimentón, cumin, and a fried bread majado that makes the broth thick enough to remember.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
One Pot
35 min
Active Time
2 hr 15 min cook•10 hr 50 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Garbanzos con tagarninas is Andaluz and Manchego, a spring stew from the country kitchen, where chickpeas meet the young wild thistle that grows along field edges after the rains. Tagarninas are what make it this dish and not another potaje. They taste green, faintly bitter, a little like artichoke stem if you catch them young. Catch them late and they turn stringy. The market decides before the pot does.
The method that decides it is the cleaning and the first blanch. Cut away every thorny edge and tough string, then blanch the tagarninas before they join the stew. That takes the wild bitterness down and leaves the good bitterness, the one that belongs there. Then the chickpeas simmer slowly with a sofrito, the slow onion base, and a majado of fried bread, garlic, pimentón, and cumin. The bread is not padding. It thickens the broth and carries the spice through the pot.
If you are far from Andalucía or La Mancha, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use young cardoon stems if you can find them, or chard stems with a handful of chard leaves at a pinch. Cardoon keeps the thistle character but needs longer cooking; chard is gentler and less bitter, so add a teaspoon of lemon juice near the end to wake it up. It will not be quite the same, and there is no shame in saying so.
Use dried chickpeas if you have the night before you. Canned chickpeas are allowed when the day is short, but do not skip the majado. That would be economy in the wrong place. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it, don't guess, and keep the simmer quiet. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Tagarninas, the young stems of Scolymus hispanicus, belong to the wild spring larder of rural Andalucía, La Mancha, and nearby dry country, gathered before the plant hardens and flowers. They entered potajes because they were free, seasonal greens with enough bitterness to stand up to chickpeas, garlic, pimentón, and cumin. In many homes the stew sits close to Lenten cooking, meatless but not thin, thickened with fried bread and shaped by what could be gathered after winter rains.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried chickpeas
Quantity
300g
soaked overnight
young tagarninas
Quantity
500g cleaned weight
trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
bay leaf
Quantity
1
onion
Quantity
1 medium
finely chopped
leek
Quantity
1 small
finely chopped
ripe tomato
Quantity
1
grated
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
peeled
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
60ml
day-old rustic bread
Quantity
40g
sliced
sweet pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
ground cumin
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
water
Quantity
1.5 litres, plus more as needed
salt
Quantity
10g, plus more to taste
hard-boiled eggs (optional)
Quantity
2
quartered
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried chickpeassoaked overnight | 300g |
| young tagarninastrimmed and cut into 5cm pieces | 500g cleaned weight |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| onionfinely chopped | 1 medium |
| leekfinely chopped | 1 small |
| ripe tomatograted | 1 |
| garlicpeeled | 4 cloves |
| extra virgin olive oil | 60ml |
| day-old rustic breadsliced | 40g |
| sweet pimentón de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| ground cumin | 1/2 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon |
| water | 1.5 litres, plus more as needed |
| salt | 10g, plus more to taste |
| hard-boiled eggs (optional)quartered | 2 |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 4 to 5 litre pot or olla
- •Frying pan
- •Mortar and pestle
- •Small knife for trimming thistles
Instructions
- 1
Soak the chickpeas
The night before, cover the chickpeas with plenty of cold water and leave them to soak for 8 to 12 hours. Drain them. Put them in a heavy pot with 1.5 litres fresh water and the bay leaf, bring to a gentle simmer, and skim the foam that rises. Keep them barely bubbling until just tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on age.
If you must use canned chickpeas, use three 400g tins, drained, and start them later with 700ml water or light vegetable broth. The stew will be quicker and a little less deep, but still worth making. - 2
Clean the tagarninas
Trim the tagarninas hard. Strip away thorny edges, tough leaves, and any fibrous strings, then cut the tender stems into 5cm pieces and wash them well in two changes of water. Blanch them in salted boiling water for 8 minutes, then drain. This first blanch matters: it tames the harsh bitterness but leaves the clean wild edge that makes the dish.
- 3
Build the sofrito
Warm 45ml of the olive oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the onion and leek with a pinch of salt and cook slowly for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft, dark gold, and sweet. Add the grated tomato and cook 8 minutes more, until the oil shows at the edges and the mixture looks thick. Rush this and the stew tastes thin.
- 4
Make the majado
In a small pan, heat the remaining 15ml olive oil and fry the bread until golden on both sides. Add the garlic cloves for the last minute, just to color them lightly. Pound the fried bread and garlic in a mortar with the pimentón, cumin, black pepper, and a ladle of chickpea cooking liquid until you have a rough paste. That is the majado, the old thickener and flavor base.
- 5
Stew it together
When the chickpeas are tender, stir in the sofrito, the blanched tagarninas, the majado, and 10g salt. Simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, gently, until the greens are tender and the broth has thickened enough to coat a spoon. Add a little water if it tightens too much. Shake the pot now and then instead of stirring hard, so the chickpeas stay whole.
- 6
Rest and serve
Take the pot off the heat and let it rest 10 minutes. Taste for salt. Serve in deep bowls, with a quarter of hard-boiled egg on top if your house does it that way, and a thread of olive oil if the stew looks shy. It should be thick, green-bitter, warm with cumin, and plain in the best sense.
Chef Tips
- •Buy or gather tagarninas young, before the stems harden. Older stalks stay stringy however long you cook them, and their bitterness turns rude instead of useful.
- •Cardoon is the best substitute abroad. Peel the strings well, blanch it 12 to 15 minutes instead of 8, then stew it with the chickpeas. Chard works when it must, but it is softer and sweeter, so the dish loses some country bite.
- •Canned chickpeas are fine for a weekday pot. Use them gently, simmer only long enough for the broth to thicken, and do not skip the fried bread majado. That is what keeps the stew from tasting like boiled greens in a hurry.
- •This is better after a rest. Make it in the morning for lunch, or the day before. If it thickens in the fridge, loosen it with water, not stock, so the tagarninas and cumin still speak clearly.
- •Serve it with rough bread and, if you want wine, a young dry white from La Mancha or a fino from Jerez. Nothing sweet. The stew already has its own quiet sweetness from the sofrito.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the chickpeas 8 to 12 hours ahead in plenty of cold water.
- •Clean and blanch the tagarninas up to 1 day ahead; keep them covered in the refrigerator.
- •The finished stew keeps 3 days refrigerated and reheats gently over low heat with a splash of water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 430g)
Calories
445 calories
Total Fat
17 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
75 mg
Sodium
1050 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
14 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
18 g
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