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

                   

Family recipe, pumpkin cream soup.

My mother was telling me stories about the family when she said:          

-“You knew, in the past cream soups were made for supper”                               

-“And how?” I replied to her, since before there were no electric mixers.

She laughed and went on speaking:            

-“While we lay the table and continue talking, we are going to prepare a cream soup, which was very typical at my parents´ house; besides, it is very easy to prepare and only consists of two ingredients,  pumpkin and potatoes, which are cut into small dices”                      

– “To know the measure, it is very easy, half of one and half of another. We put them in the saucepan and fill with water, when it boils we add a pinch of sea salt and reduce heat. From time to time, we have to stir so that the ingredients go undoing”

- “You will see how a cream soup of more intense color is forming than when it is used an electric mixer. When it is ready, we prepare a stir-fried with sliced garlic and sweet  paprika , which is something very typical of Castilian cuisine; then, we pour it into the saucepan, stir and ready”. 

>> see more cream soup recipes

                   

Mediterranean Savor: Vegetable cream soup.

There are vegetables we always have on-hand and they are easy to prepare, like garlic, onions, turnips, potatoes, leeks or  carrots . We can find them in any store near home and at any season.

By adding ingredients like  carrot  or  pumpkin  to the soups, if we beat them with an electric mixer, the color will be unmistakably  orange , but of course, with different nuances, both in flavor and aroma and obviously, in nutritional value since some give us more fiber ( pumpkins ), others more vitamin A ( carrots ), others more water 
(zucchinis  instead of  potatoes ) and so on.

The cream soups are one of my favorite dishes and I like combining different vegetables.

Preparation:

With the vegetables, previously washed and clean.

• Chop the potatoes and turnips, slice the leek and carrots and chop finely the celery.Place ingredients in a large saucepan (with capacity for 3 liters) and fill with water; cover and with the first boiling, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sea salt (to taste) and continue cooking the soup.

• When all the ingredients are fully cooked and with an aroma where highlights the celery, beat the soup with an electric mixer; but before, you can remove a little of cooking liquid. Like this, you calculate the degree of thickness you want to give to the soup; if the cooking liquid is left, you can use it as a delicious vegetable stock for another dish.

• Chop the green beans and sauté them in extra virgin olive oil. When they are ready, sprinkle with pepper and serve as a garnish of the cream soup.

Ingredients (Makes 4 servings):

• 12  green beans  pods;
• 1   stalk celery;
• 2   turnips;
• 4   large  potatoes;
• 1   leek, sliced;
• 2   large  carrots .
• Seasoning:  extra virgin olive oil  and sea salt; 5 peppers grinder to season the green beans.
• Time: 1 hour.

>> see more vegetable cream soup recipes