Spinach with Chickpeas and Spices

This side dish hails from Andalusia, Spain, where it is called espinacas con garbanzos. Serve portions of it alongside the entree of your choice, or on toast, tapas-style - with a glass of sherry of course.

Heat a teaspoon and a half of olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add 3/4 cup chopped onion, and cook for 2 minutes. Add a dash of crushed red pepper and 2 minced garlic cloves; cook another minute. Add 1/4 tsp. cumin and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Now add 3/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (use regular breadcrumbs or the slightly larger Japanese panko), one tablespoon dry sherry (as always, unfiltered if you want to be sure it is vegan), one (15-ounce) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained, and 1/8 tsp. crushed saffron threads. Cook for two minutes until the mixture thickens slightly, stirring often.

Add half of a 10-ounce package of fresh spinach. Cook for two minutes until the spinach wilts. Repeat with the remaining half of the package.

Remove from heat and stir in a teaspoon and a half of parsley, teaspoon and a half of lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. 2/3 of a cup is 150 calories.

Cost:
onion $0.37
sherry $17.99
chickpeas $1.79
fresh spinach $2.49
parsley $1.99