This Chickpea Stew from Madrid, known as Potaje de Garbanzos a la Madrileña, is seriously my favorite stew during the cold winter season. It´s packed with flavors, easy to make and instantly warms your soul. Serve it next to a crunchy baguette and a bottle of Spanish wine for the ultimate experience.
What makes this chickpea stew stand out from the rest, is the thickner that is used. First you boil the vegetables, then you blend them and then add them into the stew. Not only does this thicken the stew, but gives it a beautiful creamy like texture.
To make this recipe, I used jarred Spanish chickpeas, which is the same thing as the canned ones. Important to drain them into a sieve and rinse under cold water. That way the chickpeas can absorb all the flavors in the pan.
TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: I garnished the stew with some hard boiled eggs, but you can veganzie this recipe by omitting the eggs. I used fresh bagged spinach here, but you can also use frozen spinach.
Key Ingredients & Cookware I used in this Recipe:
MY NONSTICK FRY PAN
EXTRA VIRGIN SPANISH OLIVE OIL
SPANISH CHICKPEAS I USED
VEGETABLE BROTH
SAFFRON THREADS
SPANISH SEA SALT
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Watch the Video Below on How to Make this Chickpea Stew from Madrid Spain
Chickpea Stew from Madrid Spain | Potaje de Garbanzos a la Madrileña
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 30 ml
- 2 onions
- 1 carrot
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 tomatoes
- 2 1/2 cups canned chickpeas 20 oz / 400 grams
- 4 cups water 1 liter
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads .17 grams
- 2 cups fresh spinach 100 grams
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 eggs
- pinch sea salt
- dash black pepper
Instructions
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Roughly chop 1 onion and roughly chop 1 carrot, add into a stock pot, fill with 4 cups cold water, season with sea salt, 1 bay leaf and heat with a high heat
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Meanwhile, add 2 eggs into a sauce pan, fill with cold water, enough to cover the eggs by 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) and heat with a high heat, once it comes to a boil, place a lid on the sauce pan and turn off the heat, let the eggs sit for 12 minutes and then drain
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After cooking the vegetables for 20 minutes, drain them into a sieve with a bowl underneath, set the vegetables aside and reserve the water
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Finely chop 1/2 onion, roughly chop 4 cloves garlic, finely grate 4 tomatoes to end up with 1 cup (225 grams) tomato sauce and drain the canned chickpeas into a sieve and rinse under cold water
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Heat the same stock pot with a medium heat and add in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
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After 1 minute add in chopped onion and garlic, mix with the olive oil, after 3 minutes and the onion is translucent, add in the 1 cup tomato sauce, mix together and simmer
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Meanwhile, add the reserved vegetables that we boiled earlier into a tall plastic cylinder, along with 1/4 cup (20 grams) of the drained chickpeas and 2 tbsp (30 ml) of the reserved broth, using a handheld mixer blend together until smooth, you can also use a food processor for this step
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After simmering the tomato sauce for 4 minutes and it has thickened up, add the remainder of the drained chickpeas, the vegetable puree and season with sea salt & black pepper, gently mix together, then add in 2 cups of the reserved broth and a 1/4 tsp of saffron threads, mix together and raise the heat to a high heat, once it comes to a boil, place a lid on the stock pot and lower to a low-medium heat
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After 10 minutes remove the lid, add in 2 cups fresh spinach, mix together until wilted, remove from the heat, transfer into shallow bowls and garnish with the hard boiled eggs cut into quarters, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Get the Saffron Threads I used to make this recipe
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Jim Meyer
24 . Jun . 2023Cooked up a bag of garbanzos–made this recipe and also Garbanzos a la Navarra. Both of them were WOW (according to my husband, and he knows what he’s talking about).
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love
25 . Jun . 2023Lola.B
28 . Jan . 2023Excellent !!! Not so easy to make but, waow so tasty !!
Spain on a Fork
Happy to hear that! Much love 🙂
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[…] FULL RECIPE HERE: https://spainonafork.com/chickpea-stew-from-madrid-spain-recipe […]
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[…] FULL RECIPE HERE: https://spainonafork.com/chickpea-stew-from-madrid-spain-recipe […]
10 . Apr . 2022Jill
25 . Feb . 2022This dish is delicious! I’ve had my share of chickpea stews as I’m half Lebanese. This one is definitely a favorite! I tweaked the recipe a bit and finished with Italian parsley (instead of spinach) and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I asked my husband to pick up crusty bread and Spanish wine on his way home from work. Fabulous recipe! Healthy too! 💗
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment Jill 🙂 Much love
27 . Feb . 2022Doreen Cee
I made this recipe with slight changes due to allergies and personal likes and dislikes. I posted on my blog with a link to your recipe. It was delicious. Thanks for sharing.
30 . Jan . 2022Spain on a Fork
Sounds great! Much love 🙂
31 . Jan . 2022Maux
Hi!
Just made this for dinner and it was a delightful meal in the midst of a very cold night here. I made simple baguette to go with the stew for dipping and everything was wholesome and so tasty! I used leftover cheese brioche to make the “thickener” and it added lots of flavor. What pulled me most to this dish besides chickpeas is the “thickener.” I was intrigued and you were right, it takes this simple and hearty meal to the next level of goodness!
I have your site bookmarked because I just love pretty much all the recipes you posted- vegetarians and seafoods! Love them!
20 . Jan . 2022Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Stay warm 🙂 much love
21 . Jan . 2022Matt
19 . Jan . 2022Thank you very much! My Family and I really enjoyed this recipe. It was my first time cooking with saffron and I bought the brand you linked to (via Amazon). One question, have you ever tried sautéing the chickpeas with the onions and garlic? Or possibly roasting the chickpeas with some seasoning before adding them to the pot? My Daughter and I, who both love roasted and pan-roasted/sautéed chickpeas, thought it might be a good variant for the recipe. So I wondered if you had tried it when developing the recipe. Thanks again! I have watched many of your videos and am looking forward to making more of your recipes.
Spain on a Fork
For this recipe I wouldn´t pre roast the chickpeas, otherwise they won´t absorb the flavors in the pan 🙂 much love
21 . Jan . 2022William Mercer
18 . Jan . 2022Enjoyed another tasty dinner by following your recipe. This chickpea stew was very good. I omitted the eggs and added 18 large sauteed shrimp.
Daniella
17 . Jan . 2022Just made this for a very snowy day here in Toronto Canada. It really hit the spot! I love your simple and delicious recipes. I almost always have the ingredients on hand. Thank goodness because we are totally snowed in lol.
Spain on a Fork
I am so happy to hear that! Stay warm 🙂 much love
18 . Jan . 2022Christine
16 . Jan . 2022Thanks for yet another delicious and healthy recipe. I made this for dinner tonight. As you often recommend, we ate it “with a crusty baguette and a bottle of Spanish wine” and it was a very comforting winter meal. We even had a few canned Spanish sardines for our appetizer. My husband and I really enjoy your tasty recipes as they bring back beautiful memories of our travels in your lovely country.
Spain on a Fork
I am so happy to hear that!!! Much love 🙂
16 . Jan . 2022Conny
15 . Jan . 2022Stunning! You did not promise too much. Extremely tasty, easy to make. Thank you!!
Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that! Much love 🙂
16 . Jan . 2022Tony
15 . Jan . 2022Just watched the video, can’t wait to make this stew.
Spain on a Fork
Hope you enjoy! Much love 🙂
16 . Jan . 2022