Today, I decided to dive into the world of Spanish cuisine and explore some vegetable dishes. I’ve always loved Spanish flavors, but I’ve mostly stuck to the usual suspects like paella and patatas bravas. Time to broaden my horizons!
First, I scoured the internet for some inspiration. I wanted something relatively simple, but also authentic and flavorful. I quickly realized there’s a HUGE variety of Spanish vegetable dishes, from simple salads to hearty stews.
I settled on two dishes that caught my eye: Escalivada and Espinacas con Garbanzos. Escalivada seemed like a good starting point – it’s basically roasted vegetables, which sounded easy enough. Espinacas con Garbanzos (spinach with chickpeas) looked a bit more involved, but I was up for the challenge.
Making Escalivada
I gathered my ingredients: bell peppers (red, yellow, and orange for color!), an eggplant, a couple of onions, and some garlic. The recipe I found said to roast them whole, so I just popped them straight onto a baking sheet.
- preheat oven to 400 degree
- put all vegetable into oven about 40 minutes
- Take them out of the oven, cover them with foil, and let cool
The hardest part was definitely peeling the vegetables after they were roasted. The skins were papery and stuck in places, but I managed. I sliced everything up, drizzled it with good olive oil, added a generous pinch of salt, and squeezed some lemon juice over the top. Simple, but wow, the flavors were incredible! The smoky sweetness of the roasted vegetables was just amazing.
Tackling Espinacas con Garbanzos
Next up, the spinach and chickpeas. This one required a bit more prep work. I soaked some dried chickpeas overnight.
I guess I could have used canned chickpeas, and it can save some time.
First, I cooked the chickpeas until they were tender. Then, I sautéed some garlic and onions in olive oil, added a bunch of fresh spinach, and let it wilt down. The recipe called for some spices, including cumin and smoked paprika, which I happily added to my shopping list. Then, stirred the spices, the chickpeas, and a splash of vegetable broth. The spinach was cooking for 5 more minutes.
This dish was a bit more complex than the Escalivada, but still pretty straightforward. And the result? Delicious! The spinach was tender, the chickpeas were creamy, and the spices gave it a wonderful warmth.
I served it with a chunk of crusty bread, to soak up the sauce, it was perfect.
Overall, I’m really happy with how my Spanish vegetable adventure turned out. I learned some new techniques, discovered some amazing flavors, and added two delicious and healthy dishes to my cooking repertoire. I’m definitely going to be exploring more Spanish vegetable recipes in the future!
