Potaje de Garbanzos con Acelgas Andaluz-Manchego

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4 to 5 litre pot or cazuela
• •Mortar and pestle or small food processor
• •Skimming spoon
• •Box grater for the tomato

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the chickpeas

   Drain the soaked chickpeas and put them in a heavy pot with the bay leaf, halved onion, carrot, and enough fresh water to cover by 4cm. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then lower the heat and simmer gently until the chickpeas are tender but still whole, about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. Salt them in the last 20 minutes, not at the start. Keep 1 litre of the cooking liquid and discard the onion, carrot, and bay leaf.

   Old chickpeas are stubborn. If they stay chalky after two hours, keep cooking and add small splashes of hot water as needed. Nadie nace sabiendo, and beans don't read the clock.
2. 2

   Build the sofrito

   Warm 45ml of the olive oil in a wide cazuela or heavy pot. Add the chopped onion, green pepper, and the 2 sliced garlic cloves with a pinch of salt. Cook low and steady for 12 to 15 minutes, until the onion is soft and dark gold. Add the grated tomato and cook another 10 minutes, until it thickens and the oil begins to show at the edge. This slow sofrito is where the sweetness comes from; rush it and the pot tastes thin.

3. 3

   Wilt the chard

   Add the chopped chard stems to the sofrito and cook 5 minutes, then add the sliced leaves in handfuls until they collapse. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and 750ml of their cooking liquid. Bring the pot to a quiet simmer and let it cook 10 minutes so the greens and chickpeas begin to taste like one dish.

4. 4

   Make the picada

   In a small frying pan, warm the remaining 15ml olive oil. Fry the bread, almonds, and the whole garlic clove over medium-low heat until the bread is golden and the almonds smell toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and add the sweet pimentón, hot pimentón if using, cumin, and saffron. Scrape everything into a mortar or small processor with the sherry vinegar and 3 tablespoons of chickpea cooking liquid, then pound or blend to a rough paste.

5. 5

   Thicken the potaje

   Stir the picada into the pot, rinsing the mortar with a ladle of broth so nothing is wasted. Simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered, until the broth turns lightly thick and brick-gold from the pimentón. Stir from the bottom now and then so the bread does not catch. If it gets too thick, loosen it with a splash of the reserved chickpea liquid.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Taste for salt and let the potaje rest off the heat for 10 minutes. Spoon it into deep bowls with a quarter of hard-boiled egg if you like, and finish with a thin thread of olive oil. It should be brothy enough for a spoon, thick enough that the chickpeas don't look lost.

Chef Tips

• •Use dried chickpeas if you can. They give you the cooking liquid that becomes the broth, and that matters. Canned chickpeas work, but use two 400g cans drained and rinsed, plus 750ml light vegetable stock or water, and simmer the picada a few minutes longer.
• •Chard is right for this potaje because the stems bring body and the leaves keep a little earthiness. If you use spinach, add it only in the last 5 minutes or it will disappear into the pot.
• •The picada is not garnish. It is the thickener. Fry the bread and almonds gently, then keep the pimentón off direct heat so it smells smoky and sweet, not bitter.
• •Serve this with bread and nothing fussy. A dry fino or manzanilla works beside the pimentón and vinegar, and plain water is just as proper.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the chickpeas 8 to 12 hours ahead in plenty of cold water. If your kitchen is warm, soak them in the refrigerator.
• •Cook the chickpeas up to 2 days ahead and keep them chilled in their cooking liquid.
• •The finished potaje keeps well for 3 days. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or reserved chickpea liquid, because the bread thickens as it sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)