Frugal Recipe of the Week: Middle Eastern Garbanzos With Spinach

When I first saw this vegetarian recipe (from The Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites) in our local paper several years ago, I knew I had to make it.  Although I was positive my husband would like it, I wasn’t too sure whether the girls would go for it or not. At the time, they were really into Asian flavors and something Middle-Eastern would be a whole new thing for them. The recipe write-up claimed though that it had been “kid tested” and well received, so I decided to go for it and see what they thought.

“Well received” doesn’t even begin to describe the girls’ love of this recipe, and I now double it to make sure there’s enough for dinner and leftovers. It’s one of our all-time favorite dishes, and I love hearing “that smells so good!” whenever I’m fixing it. As an added benefit for me, everything in it is “allowed” on my eating plan.

This recipe hits the trifecta: Not only are the flavors terrific, but it’s easy to prepare and low-cost. Canned garbanzos (chick peas) are something I almost always have in my pantry because I use them in several recipes, and when I find them on sale I stock up. I get the spinach from our garden now, but have used a bag of baby spinach when the garden wasn’t producing, and other than the lemon juice, yogurt and red peppers, almost everything else comes from the pantry (and if you make your own yogurt, the cost is even less). I serve it with mixed vegetable couscous that I buy from the bulk food section at WinCo, for around 40 cents per pound.

MIDDLE EASTERN GARBANZOS WITH SPINACH

• 2/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt (regular is OK if you’re not worried about keeping things low fat)
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh mint or 1/2 tsp dried
• dash salt
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cubed
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• pinch of saffron (optional)
• 1 16-oz can of garbanzos, drained and liquid reserved
• 1 10-oz package fresh spinach, rinsed, stems removed and coarsely chopped
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• cook couscous, orzo or rice

In a bowl, stir yogurt with the garlic, mint and dash of salt; set aside to let the flavors blend.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion in the olive oil until softened, about 6-8 minutes.  Add the bell pepper, coriander, cumin and saffron (if using it); cook 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in garbanzos and 1/4 cup reserved liquid; bring to a simmer and cook until pepper is is just tender, about 5 minutes, adding more reserved liquid if necessary to prevent sticking.  Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until just wilted, about 2-3 minutes.  Stir in lemon juice, salt & pepper.  Serve immediately over hot couscous, orzo or rice.  Top each serving with the yogurt sauce.

Advertisement