Mediterranean Savor: Couscous soup

◼  I made this soup with the stock obtained from cooking some chickpeas when preparing hummus (chickpeas paste).

Add to the stock, together with the onion and some chickpeas, a little water to reduce the concentrate, one stalk celery, finely chopped (optional, if I have it, I add it) and rectify the salt.  

 
Once boiled, crush everything with an electric mixer to get a liquid and homogeneous mixture. Add ½ coffee cup or 3 tablespoons, per liter of stock, of a blend of couscous with flower petals from organic farming, already prepared, which I buy in the store in the section of organic foods.  

◼  It is a soup, ideal for supper, since it makes you feel better and with calming effect.

>> see more broths recipes

                   

Mediterranean Savor: Hummus

◼  Cook the  chickpeas  with an onion, some  bay leaves  and salt to taste. I always use the same quantity of chickpeas, 200 grams.

◼  In a mixing bowl (with capacity for 1 liter) put the drained chickpeas, 4 or 5 sliced cloves garlic, a drizzle of  extra virgin olive oil  and salt (quantity to taste), the juice of a large  lemon  and a tablespoon of ready-made  Tahini  paste.

◼  Beat the mixture with an electric mixer until you get a paste with creamy texture; in case more liquid is needed, add a little of the stock from cooking the chickpeas or else lemon juice; this will depend on the taste of the one who is preparing the hummus.

◼  Place the paste in the refrigerator for a few hours; when you are going to use it, you can serve it a serving platter garnished with sweet paprika and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

◼  I like to make salads, with beetroot, zucchini, cucumber or radishes, cut into very thin slices to prepare some toast with Hummus, especially for dinner time.

>> see recipes made with chickpeas broth 

                   

Combination of sautéed spinach with chickpeas

◼  Sautéed spinach with raisins and almonds accompanied by cooked chickpeas.

◼  When I cook chickpeas to prepare Hummus, I cook them with an onion and some bay leaves; I usually cook more than I need to prepare the chickpea paste; so, on the one hand, I prepare hummus and on the other hand, another dish like this combination of sautéed spinach.

◼  In addition, I reserve the stock from cooking the chickpeas to prepare other recipes, for instance, a noodle soup.

◼  Spinach is cooked fast, in a saucepan with a little water and salt (to taste) or steamed. In a skillet, first sauté in a little extra virgin olive oil the raisins and almonds (or pine nuts, according to what you have on hand) and then add spinach, stir and ready to serve.

                   

Family recipe, el potaje (Spanish chickpea stew)

When the first cold days of autumn arrive, I always feel like the Spanish chickpea stew. I prepare it as I have seen it make to my mother, who in her turn learned it from her mother. They are recipes that go from one generation to another and no one writes because they are easy to remember.

“Potaje” is a stew with vegetables and legumes, to which add, once made, a stir-fry with garlic and (sweet or spicy) paprika.  I remember my father really liked spicy food; for this reason, he put some drops of Tabasco sauce on his plate (well spicy) because my mother prepared the garlic stir-fry with sweet paprika; since, as a rule, little children do not like spicy very much.

Today, all of us prepare the stew with a spicy touch, adding some dried chili pepper during the cooking or using spicy paprika. But my mother and my brother, besides, add Tabasco sauce on their plates.                  

The stew we prepare in my family is as follows:

• Leave the small white beans and chickpeas to soak overnight.  The next day, place the legumes in a stew pot and fill with cold water.  
• When legumes are half cooked, add diced potatoes, sliced carrots and a pinch of sea salt (to taste),  cover and let it simmer.  
• When the legumes start to be tender with the help of a skimmer and a fork, mash some of them and some of the potatoes to give the stew a thicker texture, stir and leave it to simmer. 
• When all the ingredients are cooked, add the spinach, previously washed and cut. 
• Meanwhile, in a skillet heat extra virgin olive oil, add sliced cloves garlic and when golden brown, remove the skillet from heat and let cool the oil down. Add a large spoon of paprika (sweet or spicy, as desired), stir and pour it over the stew in the stew pot. Stir and ready. 

◼ My mother adds, at the start of the cooking, a coffee cup of whole grain rice, so the stew has a high nutritional value. Instead, I like accompanying the stew by a large slice of (kamut or whole wheat spelt or rye) bread. 

◼ In ancient times, what to have been known was that the food prepared in a traditional way and with fresh seasonal ingredients, was healthy and that the combinations among foods, many of them come from the old farmers, were right to keep good health. 

◼ Today, with the advances of science, we are told that if we combine legumes with cereals, we get a high quality protein. 

◼ The stew the same as vegetable stocks are dishes that the day after they have been prepared they are still tastier because the savors have been concentrated. They are very simple dishes, with few ingredients, easy to prepare and very nutritious.

Ingredients:

100 g white beans 

100 g Pedrosillano chickpeas (or another variety) 

4 large potatoes 

2 large carrots 

4 cloves garlic 

170 g  spinach  (previously picked over and washed)

 paprika  (sweet or spicy)

 extra virgin olive oil 

sea salt (to taste)

1/2  coffee cup whole grain rice (if desired)

>> see more stew recipes