Spinach and chickpeas

Spinach and chickpeas? Doesn't sound exciting, does it? Well, it is, actually.

This is one of those dishes that is sure to become a staple. To start with, it tastes totally lovely. The slightly bitter silkenness of the spinach with the nutty firmness of the chickpeas, deepened by the richness of fried bread and the acidity of a touch of vinegar, finished with cumin and smoked paprika. Hearty, comforting, spicy, all of them. Hopelessly moreish.

It is also flexible - except for the spinach you might have all ingredients already. You can serve it as tapas, or cook some rice with it and have it for dinner. It is vegan. Oh, and have I told you yet that it tastes awesome?

Some notes on details: The fried bread should probably be either in or under this, not both. Unless you want it gluten-free, then I'm sure it will be fine without as well. When I set out to cook this, I found I was all out of tomato sauce. I used an equivalent amount of mild Turkish red pepper paste instead. Great. Now I've tried both I can say I actually prefer to substitute the pepper paste. It will probably work with frozen spinach as well, as long as it is whole-leaf or only roughly chopped. The feel of leaf should still be there, not the totally fine mush that cheap frozen spinach can be.