An abundance of “mature” spinach in the garden and some shrimp in the freezer led me to this recipe, Shrimp, Chickpeas and Spinach with Ginger and Cumin. Since the advent of bagged salads within the last 20 years or so, baby spinach has been very common in supermarkets and the larger leafed spinach has been the spinach of choice for cooked preparations. I missed the baby stage for the first planting of our spinach. We have had wonderful salad greens from the cold frames and even with the staggered plantings Joe is doing, it is still a challenge to keep up with the greens. I always have some frozen shrimp on hand for a quick dinner. Though Heller’s has the occasional fresh Florida shrimp, frozen shrimp, for this area of the country (mid-Atlantic) is not a bad thing. The shrimp we see in our supermarket seafood case, is thawed out. Convenient, yes but you can’t be sure how long they have been thawed. I prefer to buy frozen in the 2lb bag to have on hand and thaw what I need. It doesn’t take long at all. Either thaw overnight in the refrigerator or what I usually do, in a colander under cool running water. Shrimp is sized anywhere from extra small, 61-70 lb to U10, which simply means under 10 shrimp a pound. Easy peel, meaning the shell is split down the back and deveined is the quickest way to go. Deveining isn’t that hard to do, either use a small paring knife or the tool that is specifically made for that purpose. The “sand vein” is actually the digestive tract, and although removal is not essential, it makes for a more attractive preparation. I made some changes to the recipe. I chose larger shrimp, making it less likely to overcook them. I substituted leeks from the garden, increased the amount of spinach because it cooks down so quickly, and used chicken stock instead of water to make a more flavorful broth. A little bread on the side would be nice to sop up the juices. It’s even better the next day, if you are lucky enough to have any leftover.
Shrimp, Chickpeas & Spinach with Ginger and Cumin
Adapted from Fine Cooking magazine
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt
- 2T olive oil
- 1/2 lemon cut into four wedges
- 1 small onion or 2 leeks, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 T finely chopped ginger
- 1t ground cumin
- 1t ground coriander
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 14-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 c low sodium chicken broth or stock
- 1 lb mature spinach, well washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
- Toss shrimp with 1/2t salt in a small bowl. Heat 1T oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook until one side is pink, about 2 minutes. Turn shrimp over and continue to cook until shrimp is pink all over but still a bit translucent in the center, about 2 minutes more, do not overcook! Transfer the shrimp to a bowl squeeze one of the the lemon wedges over it and keep warm. I do this under the heat lamp of my cook top.
- Return the skillet to the stove and heat to medium. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil into the skillet and add the chopped leek or onion. Sprinkle generously with salt and cook until the edges are starting to turn brown, about 5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic, cook until fragrant, one minute. Add the cumin and cayenne, cook stirring until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth, the chickpeas and 1/2t salt. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes to reduce stock a little and develop flavors.
- Using a potato masher, mash about 1/2 of the chickpeas right in the pan. Add spinach and cilantro. Using tongs, carefully toss the greens to wilt and help them cook evenly, about 2 minutes.
- Add reserved shrimp and any juices that have accumulated in the bowl. Cook for another minute or so to reheat and finish cooking the shrimp. Season to taste with salt . Serve in warmed bowls with lemon wedges on the side.
