Ruttable – possessing an affinity for being caught in a rut

Chorizo and Chickpea One-Pot Supper

Let’s say we live to 100.  I’ll figure that until one is 18, meals are the responsibility of the parent.  That leaves 82 years of meals.  Assuming you attend college and eat at the cafeteria you’d cross 4 years of meals off (well six or more for some of us).  So that is 78 years of meals and more importantly to this post, 28,470 dinners that are your responsibility.  No wonder I sometimes feel burned out!

I have some tactics I use to help.  I’m a recipe gal.  I have a recipe box.  My SIL makes fun of me for having one, but I find it combats my ‘let’s just eat out because I’m too lazy to figure out dinner’ problem.  The only things that make it into the box are recipes that are tried and true.  These are typically easier, weeknight sort of recipes.  If I get in a jam or just don’t feel like being creative, I go to my recipe box because I know I’ll find something manageable to make.

I also try to make at least one new dish a week (who knows, this is may be low for most of you).  I find these dishes in cookbooks, from friends and on the Internet.  These dishes may or may not be a hit (my husband suggests I have about an 80% success rate with new recipes).  And often, as you know if you are a friend of mine, I end up eating a ‘failure’ for lunch all week long.  But, it is important to change up what you are eating.  Diversity typically makes for better nutrition and it is important to broaden the kid’s pallets.  I’ve found changing up meals regularly reduces the level of complaining when I introduce new foods.

With that in mind, here is a recipe I love.  It is a one pot supper from Northern Spain and very easy to make.  It is a healthy dish with lots of fiber and it is a little off the beaten path.  I love it when I stumble across a dish with all these features!  This one is in the recipe box.

From Food and Wine Best of the Best

Chorizo and Chickpea One-Pot Supper

2T olive oil

2 onions

2 garlic cloves

9 ounces of chorizo

1 lb 8 oz canned chickpeas (I use dried beans.  I typically cook a big batch and then freeze in them in 2 C increments.  I use two cups of cooked dried beans for this recipe)

14 ounces canned plumb tomatoes

2 T golden raisins

1 T roasted pine nuts

juice of ½ lemon

Salt and pepper

1 T roughly chopped parsley

10 oz. frozen cooked spinach for serving.

A note on the chorizo:  It is important to use real chorizo.  This is the kind that is dried and is pretty dark red.  When you cook it, it will release reddish oil.  The other stuff doesn’t taste as good and doesn’t work well in the recipe.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.  Add the onions and fry until they are soft then add garlic and chorizo.

Once the chorizo has released some of the smoky chorizo fat, add the chickpeas.  Then add the tomatoes, golden raisins and lemon juice.  Heat through.

To serve, top the cooked spinach with the Chroizo and Chickpea combo.  Top with the pine nuts, parsley and more lemon juice if you prefer.