Creamy Lemon Chickpeas with Spinach

ByBrad Cavanagh

Chickpeas in a creamy umami-rich sauce, with spinach added to add more nutrients, flavour, and texture. Super great for a weekday dinner, this recipe comes together in about an hour, which includes the time to dice the shallots, the hardest bit of prep you’ll need to do.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3-4 shallots, or 1 small red onion, diced
  • 6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp miso paste
  • 1/2 – 2 tbsp red pepper flakes, to preference
  • 2 x 16 oz cans of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 8 cups baby spinach
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • Black pepper & salt, as needed

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Once heated & shimmering, add shallots or onions and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning.
  2. Stir in miso paste and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute to allow flavours to bloom.
  3. Add chickpeas, stir to coat them in the aromatics, and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring often.
  4. Pour in heavy cream and broth, then stir in nutritional yeast. Bring to gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  5. Combine corn starch with roughly 1/2 cup of warm water to form a slurry, then stir in. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the chickpeas are soft and no longer mealy. Stir occasionally.
  6. Add spinach to pan in handfuls, stirring each addition in. Continue until all the spinach has wilted.
  7. Stir in lemon juice.
  8. Remove from heat, taste, and season with pepper and salt if needed.

Best served with a crusty bread.

Notes

  • 1 tbsp of red pepper flakes is about right for us for heat level, but if you like a little more spice add more. If you don’t like the spice, drop this down.
  • In addition to the lemon juice, you could zest the lemon and add that for more lemon flavour.
  • To make this recipe vegan, substitute the heavy cream with a vegan alternative. Try blending silken tofu, or maybe full-fat oat cream. No guarantees though, we haven’t tried this. Oh, and obviously don’t use chicken broth.