Spain on a Fork > All Recipes > Main Dishes > My Favorite Chickpea Stew on a Cold Winters Day | Heart-Warming Recipe
All Recipes, Main Dishes / January 14, 2022

My Favorite Chickpea Stew on a Cold Winters Day | Heart-Warming Recipe

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.

Chickpea Stew
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.

Chickpea Stew
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.

Chickpea Stew

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.

Chickpea Stew

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
5 from 10 votes
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Chickpea Stew from Madrid Spain | Potaje de Garbanzos a la Madrileña

Course Main Course
Cuisine Spanish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 484 kcal
Author Albert Bevia @ Spain on a Fork

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

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. After cooking the vegetables for 20 minutes, drain them into a sieve with a bowl underneath, set the vegetables aside and reserve the water

  4. 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

  5. Heat the same stock pot with a medium heat and add in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

Nutrition Facts
Chickpea Stew from Madrid Spain | Potaje de Garbanzos a la Madrileña
Amount Per Serving
Calories 484 Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 13g
Cholesterol 164mg55%
Sodium 719mg31%
Potassium 1389mg40%
Carbohydrates 54g18%
Fiber 15g63%
Sugar 13g14%
Protein 21g42%
Vitamin A 10232IU205%
Vitamin C 54mg65%
Calcium 212mg21%
Iron 5mg28%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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23 Comments

  1. Jim Meyer

    5 stars
    Cooked 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).

    24 . Jun . 2023
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment 🙂 Much love

      25 . Jun . 2023
  2. Lola.B

    5 stars
    Excellent !!! Not so easy to make but, waow so tasty !!

    28 . Jan . 2023
    • Spain on a Fork

      Happy to hear that! Much love 🙂

      30 . Jan . 2023
  3. My Favorite Chickpea Stew on a Cold Winters Day | Heart-Warming Recipe - My Home Chef Recipes

    […] FULL RECIPE HERE: https://spainonafork.com/chickpea-stew-from-madrid-spain-recipe […]

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  4. My Favorite Chickpea Stew on a Cold Winters Day | Heart-Warming Recipe - Happy Apples Recipes

    […] FULL RECIPE HERE: https://spainonafork.com/chickpea-stew-from-madrid-spain-recipe […]

    10 . Apr . 2022
  5. Jill

    5 stars
    This 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! 💗

    25 . Feb . 2022
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment Jill 🙂 Much love

      27 . Feb . 2022
  6. Doreen 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 . 2022
    • Spain on a Fork

      Sounds great! Much love 🙂

      31 . Jan . 2022
  7. Maux

    5 stars
    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 . 2022
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy to hear that! Stay warm 🙂 much love

      21 . Jan . 2022
  8. Matt

    5 stars
    Thank 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.

    19 . Jan . 2022
    • 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 . 2022
  9. William Mercer

    5 stars
    Enjoyed another tasty dinner by following your recipe. This chickpea stew was very good. I omitted the eggs and added 18 large sauteed shrimp.

    18 . Jan . 2022
  10. Daniella

    5 stars
    Just 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.

    17 . Jan . 2022
    • Spain on a Fork

      I am so happy to hear that! Stay warm 🙂 much love

      18 . Jan . 2022
  11. Christine

    5 stars
    Thanks 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.

    16 . Jan . 2022
    • Spain on a Fork

      I am so happy to hear that!!! Much love 🙂

      16 . Jan . 2022
  12. Conny

    5 stars
    Stunning! You did not promise too much. Extremely tasty, easy to make. Thank you!!

    15 . Jan . 2022
    • Spain on a Fork

      So happy to hear that! Much love 🙂

      16 . Jan . 2022
  13. Tony

    5 stars
    Just watched the video, can’t wait to make this stew.

    15 . Jan . 2022
    • Spain on a Fork

      Hope you enjoy! Much love 🙂

      16 . Jan . 2022

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