Southern Spain's best-kept secret

Rigorously tested recipes that work.

Espinacas con garbanzos is a hyper-regional dish native to Seville with strong Moorish influence that's substantive and full of flavour.

Briefly simmering canned chickpeas (uniformly tender, well seasoned and convenient) in a combination of chicken broth and chickpea canning liquid tenderized them and infused them with savoury flavour.

A picada (a paste of garlic and bread cooked in plenty of olive oil) thickened and seasoned the sauce. Smoked paprika and Moorish spices such as cumin, cinnamon and saffron imbued the picada with heady aromas, and tomatoes and vinegar boosted its tang.

Thawed frozen chopped spinach was perfect here; already fine and tender, it dispersed beautifully throughout the dish and provided plenty of surface area to hold the juices in place.