In Due Season

Making potaje de garbanzos y espinacas , a Spanish Lenten dish.

The snow has begun to melt, and there are snowdrops pushing up through last year’s dead leaves. A bird sang me awake before it was light. There are undeniable glimpses of spring today, in spite of the cold, and I’m eagerly awaiting its arrival. Yet the chill in the air, and the blanket of leaves over the garden beds, remind me that while I look forward to the renewal of the earth, there is still much preparation and waiting ahead. It is a timely reminder of the purpose of Lent in preparing us for Easter; Lent, like the first hints of spring, offers us joyful anticipation even as our “souls in stillness wait.”

Lent is one season of the Liturgical year for which our family has not yet developed any particularly special recipes. Therefore I’ve been trying to find dishes that are unique to the season of Lent, but I’ve had to dig deep. Here in the Midwest, Fish Fries and meatless soups (“Soup and Stations”) are a Friday tradition. My search for Lenten-specific recipes, however, turned up mostly categories, rather than dishes; lists of Lenten meals are mostly interchangeable with “meatless Monday” ideas. But for our family and others who already have an abundance of meatless dishes in their repertoire, I was hoping to find something more unique, more special.

I did turn up a few gems during my search, however, and today I’m cooking a traditional Spanish dish that is commonly associated with Lent. “Potaje de garbanzos y espinacas,” from Claudia Roden’s The food of Spain, is “the Castilian version of a thick soup that is eaten in many parts of Spain during Lent, when it is known as garbanzos de vigilia (meaning ‘chickpeas of abstinence’).” It is a simple yet special meal.

As a note: This recipe is not difficult, but it does have many steps and uses several pans. Based on my experience cooking this dish, I have adapted the instructions slightly to streamline them; the recipe remains entirely Claudia Roden’s which I found on The Happy Foodie.

Spinach and Chickpea Soup (potaje de garbanzos y espinacas)

3	medium potatoes (about 1 lb)
2- 14 oz cans	chickpeas, drained
1 quart	vegetable or chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube
1 lb	spinach leaves, fresh or frozen and defrosted
1 tbsp	red or white wine vinegar
Salt
4 tbsp	olive oil
4–5	garlic cloves, peeled
2	slices of bread (about 75g), crusts removed
1 tsp	pimentón dulce or sweet paprika
1 tsp	ground cumin
A pinch	of ground chilli pepper or cayenne (optional)
2	eggs

1. Begin by cooking the eggs: place them in a pot with a lid and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and let sit 8-10 minutes. When they are done, drain them and set them aside in cold water to cool.
2. While the eggs are cooking, peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters, then add them with chickpeas to a heavy lidded pan. Add 2 cups of the stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 10 minutes.
3. While the soup simmers, and the eggs cook, heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. When hot, add the bread and garlic and cook until golden brown (watch it closely– it burns easily!) When it is done, place it in a food processor with the cumin, paprika, and chili pepper, processing until a smooth paste forms.
4. Peel the cooled eggs, separating the yolk and white. Chop the whites and set them aside. Blend the egg yolk into the bread and garlic paste, slowly adding another cup of stock to form a thin, creamy mixture.
5. Stir this mixture into the soup; check the seasoning, cover and cook another 10 minutes.
6. Just before serving, stir in the egg whites. If you would like the soup a little thinner, add some water or stock. Just remember that the soup is meant to be very thick.