The last winter dinner...

Last week Jill and made this dish after I snagged it out of a magazine at work. We weren't sure how it would end up using the chickpeas for a stew but were not disappointed. This recipe was delicious, I got two meals at work after the fact with the leftovers and it was still good every time. We of course substituted the sausage in the recipe with a breakfast chicken sausage from Trader Joe's that had a nice smoky flavor. For the bread we also got from a Trader Joe's a whole grain crusty bread (french would not work well) that was very good. Sourdough may work if that's all you have but a dense bread works well to soak up the broth of the stew without turning to mush.






Chickpea and Sausage Stew
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
12 ounces Italian sausage, thawed and casings removed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 10-ounce package frozen leaf spinach
Kosher salt and pepper
8 slices bread, toasted (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley and cilantro and cook for 1 minute more. Add the broth and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Add the frozen spinach and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork to separate the leaves. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Divide the toasted bread, if using, among individual bowls and spoon the stew on top.

Yield: Makes 4 servings