Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Guiso de Garbanzos Con Chorizo (Cuban Chickpea, Sausage and Pork Pot)

This is a simple, quick, Cuban dish. Chickpeas are married with smoked Spanish chorizo and pork through a fragrant tomato based Cuban creole sauce. If you use canned chickpeas you can make this stand alone dish in less than 30 minutes. You can prepare some rice, and while the rice is cooking make this dish, by the time your done you'll have steaming hot rice, and a flavorful filling stew to serve over it.

You can actually make this from scratch using dried chickpeas (about 1 lbs. which is 2 cups raw) by soaking the chickpeas over night, then draining and boiling them in water til tender, when tender drain well, and use them in this recipe :) however this will take longer to do and makes things more tedious.

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup lard or olive oil
-1/2 lbs. smoked pork ham or bacon/ salted pork or pork meat cut into 1/2 inch pieces
-2 small Spanish Chorizo's cut into thin rounds
-1 onion chopped
-1 green or red bell pepper chopped
-4-6 cloves garlic minced
-2 cans 16 ounces Chickpeas/ Garbanzos drained
-1 can 8 oz. tomato sauce
-salt to taste
-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional my grandmother doesn't use it I do however)
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1 cup water

Directions:

(1) Heat lard or olive oil in a pan on medium high heat, when hot add the smoked ham or bacon or fresh pork meat (whatever you choose), when slightly browned add onion, bell pepper, and garlic saute 5-7 minutes until tender and onion is translucent

(2) Stir in sliced spanish chorizo, when the oil turns slightly reddish and so do the onions, add drained chickpeas, cumin, black pepper and stir 30 minutes, add tomato sauce and water bring to rolling a boil on high heat to heat through.

(3) Turn off heat and serve over white rice. It can stand alone with rice, or you can serve it with a salad (something simple like cucumber, tomato, onion, lettuce tossed with lime or lemon even vinegar, a little olive oil and salt)
PLEASE NOTE:
(1) My Tata (grandmother) likes making this with bacon or cubed salted pork that she renders in olive oil then starts the recipe. I didn't have any and had two fresh pork shoulder steaks that I cubed, which is perfectly fine.

(2) I know Spanish chorizo isn't available everywhere here in the USA, so if you must substitute it with a smoked sausage like Keilbasa.

(3) If you want to stretch out the dish to feed more people, you can form the sauce BUT don't add the chickpeas yet and instead simmer about 2 potatoes cut in chunks in the sauce, then add the chickpeas towards the end. It will take longer, but is a way to stretch out the dish to feed more people ha ha.


I'm submitting this recipe to Ruchikacooks who is hosting this month's "My Legume Love Affair" which is a Susan's brainchild Event. If you want to participate too, just take a look at Ruchika's blog or go to Susan's MLLA past, present and future to get all details.

12 comments:

tinyskillet said...

I love your Cuban recipes! You have such great step by step photos!

ruchikacooks said...

Love the flavor combinations, thanks for the step by step info. Recipes which can feed a couple as well as a crowd are my favorites.

Thanks for the entry :)

Nathan said...

Lyndsey,
Thanks Lindsey I always love recieving visitors :)

Ruchikacooks,
Hi, thanks for giving me a visit, I am happy to participate in "My Legume Love Affair" since your vegetarian, you can make this I without lard (use olive oil), omit the chorizo and pork. Instead you can use chickpeas with potatoes that would be nice combination, and for that spanish chorizo taste you could use 1 teaspoon of sweet smoked spanish paprika if available to you. Maybe eat it with some brown rice to make a complete protien :)

Unknown said...

Sounds and looks like another winner to me Nathan! It so happens chick peas or garganzos are my favorite snack. What a nice way to use them in a meal

Nathan said...

Yaya,
I love all kinds of beans and legumes :) they are just so delicious and good for you especially black and red beans that are so high in antioxidants. I mean I know I marry beans a lot with pork products which probably isn't "the healthiest thing" but the goodness of the beans should make up for it ha ha. My mother sometimes buys raw fresh garbanzo beans in their pods and we boil them in salted water, then drain and eat them as snacks. There's also a very healthy Mexican preparation one of my aunts does in which she saute's garbanzos with chopped cabbage she calls it "Repollo Guisado Con Garbanzo" I think she saute's onion, garlic, chili pepper, tomato, and cabbage then adds garbanzo's and seasons with salt and pepper not sure however. I'll have to post someday :)

Núria said...

Vivan los garbanzos y el chorizo!!!! He, he, did I inspire you? A fantastic dish Nathan :D. You are the king of the legumes ;D

ruchikacooks said...

Will try that soon Nathan, my husband is allergic to gluten so pretty much I stick to making rice and rice based dishes :(.. and I always look for rice based variations..

FOODalogue said...

This is one of my family's favorite. We do it often for picnics or buffets as a side dish. Only differences is we don't use the tomato sauce so it's not as soupy.

Nathan said...

Maramara,
Glad I can be help, and I'm flattered that someone takes interest in my culture :)

Nuria,
Haha you were my inspiration to make this dish, I saw your blog and was like yummy garbanzos cooked "rapido", and your submission to "My Legume Love Affair" nad I was like that's it I'm making another type of "Guiso de Garbanzo" to stick to the theme haha. Thanks for the "King of the Legumes" title, I love love my legumes because they are so healthy, filling, nutritious, and tasty when cooked right. In my house we ALWAYS have some type of legume stew or dish :)

Ruchikacooks,
Aaaww cheer up, rice is my favorite grain :) goes well with EVERYTHING and is super versatile.

Mary Catello • Teri Salomoni,
Well the tomato sauce doesn't make it soupy it's actually kinda thick, to the point we dilute it with some water, we just like to form a sauce so we can soak it up with rice :)

Mamey said...

Nathan! Te la comiste! Those garbanzos look so inviting! Have you made garbanzos con bacalao? Very different but also very yummy.

Nathan said...

Mamey,
Gracias :) de veras que quedaron muy deliciosos todos en casa se lo devoraron jaja. I have never made "Bacalao con Garbanzos" but one of my fellow bloggers who is from Galicia, Spain has a very good recipe maybe you would like to check it out :) Here is the URL:

http://www.lacocinadelechuza.com/2008/10/bacalao-con-garbanzos-pedrosillano.html

IDania said...

Nate,
Can't find your email address, so I've decided to leave you a little note here.
Oye, I haven't had the opportunity to buy the "pimentón" I've promised you. Just have a little patience, dear, okay? I will get it to you some time before the end of next week and send it off right away...

Me encantan estos garbanzos "cuban style"... qué ricos!!!!!

Bessssssos!!!!
IDania