This spinach and warm veggie salad recipe, smothered in a delicious creamy mustard sauce, makes a great starter or side dish for any occasion. The warm vegetables make a welcome change to a typical cold salad and provide the perfect contrast to the bed of tender fresh spinach leaves.
Cheddar cheese, potatoes, cream, spinach and pine nuts, grilled to perfection au gratin, this spinach and potato gratin dish has quite literally every single one of my favourite comfort foods, all rolled together into one, big, brilliant recipe! Â I make absolutely no claims as to the healthiness of this creation, but sometimes you just want to forget all about that and just eat something that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This dish definitely fits that bill!
Personally, I leave the skins on the potatoes, and since they’re supposed to be the healthy part anyway, I don’t feel too guilty about stuffing my face with this every once in a while. (Also try this potato au gratin with pesto and salmon steaks. Just take out the salmon to make it vegetarian, or perhaps you could replace it with tofu!)
This spinach and chickpeas recipe makes for a great starter or can even be served as a main course if you accompany it with some oven-warmed French bread and a bit of salad. (If you want to stick with the chickpea theme, try this carrot, chickpea and orange salad.) As always, I suggest using dried pulses and rehydrating them overnight, but if you don’t have time, you can go ahead and use the precooked canned or bottled ones.
What you’re going to need:
300g chickpeas, soaked overnight
60ml olive oil
1 slice white bread
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4tsp paprika
450g fresh spinach
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
Salt and pepper, to taste
What you have to do:
Drain the chickpeas and place them in a pot with enough water to cover them completely.
Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes over high heat.
Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 1 hour or until the chickpeas are tender.
Remove from heat and drain off the water.
Heat 30ml of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the slice of bread until it’s golden brown.