Thursday 4 July 2013

Brunch: Smoked Chickpeas and Spinach on Toast

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Shelby Lynne ~ Sleep
Prince ~ Sexy MF
Pearl Jam ~ I Got ID
Jack Johnson ~ Do You Remember?

Rhianna & Eminem ~ Love The Way You Lie
U2 ~ Dancing Barefoot
Tina Dico ~ Let's Get Lost
The Union ~ Cut The Line
Queen ~ I Want It All
Marvin Gaye ~ Distant Lover
Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow ~ Picture
The Fratellis ~ Creeping Up The Backstairs
Halestorm ~ Break In
Nelly Furtado ~ Maneater

Having been a lifelong non-meat eater I have been in many situations where people I have been spending time with have wanted to go to the 'greasy spoon' cafes for the nightmare that is the Full English Breakfast. *shudder* On those occasions if I have been able to drag myself over the threshold and into said cafes..I've on the whole chosen to sit with a black coffee and sit there patiently as they have tucked into 'the best meal on earth'. Urgh! I detest fried food so I would consider it a bonus if my coffee cup didn't smell of...1. dishwasher funk and 2. grease and bacon. I would sit through the experience breathing in through my mouth and praying that I didn't smell like the foods being devoured in front and around me. That was then...

Now I just don't go in them anymore. Simple.

However it wasn't all bad as sometimes the people I was with wanted to eat at a good café and then I would check the cooking situation and then I would opt for baked beans on toast. The only veggie option on the menu but at least I liked it. Although I do recall with horror one time when I ordered this at the supermarket café and the serving gal served up my beans on my toast "Hold the butter!!!..." perfectly and then proceeded to serve up ML's choice...scooping up the dripping bacon with tongs...directly over my plate and drenched my beans and toast in bacon fat. Arghhhhhhhhhhhh! When I asked her to plate me up another serving she couldn't understand the problem I was having. She just offered up... "But wouldn't it make it taste nice?..." At which point I was no longer hungry and was banging my head against the wall, inside my head of course. lol. I retreated back to our table with a black coffee...
 
Later I found that I react to the preservatives in almost all mass produced foods so had to nix the tinned baked bean. Which was a sad day as they are a cheap, easy and very quick meal to throw together when that is called for. Oh well.

My curiousity was piqued when I found this recipe online as the creator had recommended serving it on toast. Now the recipe was posted up by anonymous (grr) so I can't give the credit where it's due. (Usual rules apply..if you know..let me know and I'll make blog amends..thanks) Its no secret I am a chickpea junkie fan and when they are combined with spinach something magical happens in a skillet. Honestly! It's true!

Now the original recipe called for white wine and a full tbsp of smoked paprika. So the only changes we made were to nix the wine and replace with extra stock and to reduce the paprika down to 1/2 tbsp because personally I can easily get paprika'd out. lol.

ML served it on wholemeal toast which soaked up the juices pleasantly. The chickpea and spinach mix was wholesome, the paprika gave it a whole new flavour layer and then the hit of garlic and tomatoes blended to make one seriously enjoyable and tasty brunch. Next time I would maybe up the paprika to 3/4 tbsp..figures right? lol.

Steamy Smoked Chickpeas and Spinach on Wholewheat Toast
Smoked Chickpeas & Spinach on Toast Serves 2

1 14oz tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 14oz tin of chopped tomatoes
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp smoked paprika (we used 1/2)
1/4 cup of dry white wine (we used extra broth)
1/4 cup of veggie stock
4 cups of baby spinach leaves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

In a large skillet heat the oil and then add the onions, stir well, cover and leave to cook for 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the skillet, stir, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the paprika and cook, stirring, for a minute. Add the broth, wine and tomatoes, bring to the boil. Add the chickpeas, stir well, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. It should thicken up a little. Add the spinach and toss until it wilts. Stir in the parsley. Taste and season if needed. Serve on slices of toast. And obviously if GF..serve over toasted GF bread.

Enjoy!

Sending thanks out to the creator of this dish and I would thank you and give you a shout out if I could..I take no credit for others hard work.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are looking forward to the weekend...

~Red~