A Canadian Cook with Spanish Flavor: Potaje de Garbanzos y Acelgas

Easter week is called Semana Santa in Spain. Although most Spaniards are not very religious, they have huge processions in the streets and events. It is pretty impressive and can actually shock new comers. Think major Ku Klux Klan outfits walking down the street, people carrying religious emblems on their shoulders... they really go all out. They also have typical dishes to be served like the famous Torrijas :) For those not familiar to this Easter dessert, it is bread soaked in milk, fried and covered with cinnamon. It makes me think of French Toasts. Another dish is the Potaje de Vigilia. This dish is a stew composed of chick peas, spinach and cod. I had some at work and really liked it. Since I had some chard left, I decided to make my own version of the Potaje de Vigilia with meat instead of cod and chard instead of spinach.

Potaje de Garbanzos y Acelgas

Ingredients:

200grs chick peas
200grs chard
1 punta de jamón (Spanish ham bone)
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
1 peeled tomato
150grs ham (lacón)
2 tbsps parsley
water
oil

Soak the chick peas overnight in water. They will double in size. Rinse them well before using.

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. The quantity to use really depends on how liquid you want your stew. Since David is not a big fan of beans, I decided to use more water to make more of a soup for him. When the water is boiling, add the chick peas and punta de jamón.

This is what a punta de jamón looks like. Jamón is Spanish prosciutto. It is quite the spanish delicassy. The difference with the italian version is that they are cured for longer, hence the better taste... sorry... but I have to be honest. Spanish ham is better than prosciutto (and I have italian blood and we have always had prosciutto at home). The punta is the small piece of the leg before then foot that is quite hard to remove the meat from. It is filled with flavor so people chop it and use it to make broths.

When the water boils again, reduce the heat. Cover and cook for about 1hour.

Chop the onion, garlic and tomato. In a pan, heat oil. When ready, sweat the onion and garlic.

Add the tomato. Cook until the tomato can be easily crushed and forms a purée.

Blend the sauce with a hand mixer.

When the stew has been heating for 1 hour. Add the chard.

Let them reduce in size. Cut the ham into bite size pieces. Add the tomato sauce and ham.

Mix well. Remove the punta de jamón from the stew. From the piece, remove the meat, chop into small pieces. Add them to the stew and add the parsley.

Let the flavors mix together. Cooking time should be about 1h30. It really depends on the type of chick peas you used. Taste them to make sure they are tender enough.