Chickpeas and spinach bring big health benefits to this hearty one-pan meal. Cumin, chili powder, garlic and onion bring big flavor. Recipe below.
This meal wasn’t going to be a post. It was just meant to be dinner. But suddenly, the kitchen was smelling heavenly (assuming there’s cumin in heaven, and I certainly hope so). And when I served the chops and spooned the chickpea spinach mixture next to them, the plates looked really inviting. So before cutting into my chop, I had Marion taste hers. She smiled and nodded, and here we are.
This particular dish came together because we’ve been eating too much chicken. We love chicken, but even for us, there’s been a lot of it. So when I saw a nice looking pair of pork chops in the grocery store, I grabbed them. My first thought for sides were mashed potatoes and a salad, quick and easy. But we’ve been doing those a lot lately too.
So I asked myself what we hadn’t been doing lately. Chickpeas immediately came to mind. These delicious, nutty-tasting beans are packed with proteins and other nutrients. No wonder they’ve spread from their Middle Eastern beginnings to tables all over the world.
I love cooking like this, by the way, making up the dish as I shop. After picking up a can of chickpeas, I headed back to the produce department for some spinach, another nutrient powerhouse. Onion and garlic would round out the produce for this meal. For the spices, I would go with salt, pepper, lots of cumin, a little chili powder and, to heat things up on a winter night, some cayenne pepper. Heading for the checkout, I could already smell and taste everything coming together.
Pork Chops with Chickpeas, Spinach and Cumin
Serves 2 (can easily be doubled)
2 bone-in pork chops, about 1-inch thick and 8 ounces each
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
olive oil
4 to 5 cups loosely packed baby spinach (about 3 ounces)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-1/2-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (or water)
About 1/2 hour before cooking, let chops come to room temperature on a plate on the kitchen counter. (Don’t leave them in their package, especially if they’re on a Styrofoam tray—its insulating properties will keep them too chilled.)
Mix the cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, lidded skillet over medium flame. When the oil is shimmering, add the spinach in handfuls, tossing to coat with oil. When all the spinach is incorporated, remove the pan from heat and cover. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes; the spinach will wilt and condense greatly in volume.
Meanwhile, pat chops dry with paper towel and season on both sides with salt, pepper and half of the cumin mixture. Gently press the seasonings into the chops. Transfer the wilted spinach to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside. Wipe the pan clean with paper towels and heat 2 more tablespoons of oil over medium flame. Sauté chops for 5 minutes on one side, tilting the pan occasionally to make sure they stay in contact with oil and don’t scorch. Turn chops and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add onion to pan, drizzling in more oil, if needed. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning or browning too much; reduce heat slightly, if necessary. When onions are just softening and turning translucent, add garlic to pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add chickpeas to pan, sprinkle with remaining cumin mixture and stir to combine. Add chicken broth or water to pan. Nestle chops among chickpeas, adding any accumulated juices, cover pan and reduce heat to low. Cook until chops are just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. An instant read thermometer should read 145ºF when inserted in the thickest part of the chop (avoid touching bone with the thermometer).
Transfer chops to a plate and tent with foil. Add spinach to skillet and toss to combine. Cook until spinach is just heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Plate chops and spoon chickpea spinach mixture alongside. Serve.
And I happen to have just the porkchops for this.
Oh my.. it looks perfect!
Looks absolutely delicious! Think I’m going to make the chickpea and spinach tonight 🙂
If there isn’t cumin in heaven, why would anyone want to go?
Nice dish, and I enjoyed reading your thought processes. I used to be really intimidated by just buying things at the market, and then figuring out what to do with them; now this is how I almost always cook. The combo of chick peas and spinach is great. I think almost any kind of green goes well with beans/legumes/pulses. Bitter greens, in particular. Anyway, thanks for a really nice recipe.
Gorgeous pic! That pork chop looks great, Terry. Wouldn’t mind having some of that right now. But with my perpetual hankering for Middle Eastern food, a version of your chick peas and spinach will be on my table soon. And kitchenriffs already has me thinking about bitter green variations. Yum!
Hope you like it, Altadenahiker.
Thanks, Eri!
You know, Kirsty, as we ate this, I thought the chickpeas and spinach could stand on their own as a side dish.
Kitchenriffs, I mix it up in the kitchen, inventing dishes as I shop sometimes and carefully planning a dish or meal before heading out other times. And you’re right about bitter greens working well with legumes. Marion has made some delicious lentil soups with chard or kale.
Thanks, Ronnie Ann! Let me know what this inspires you to concoct.
that looks really awesome, Terry… yum!!
We’ve been eating way too much chicken, too, though our variety is in the form of soups and stews. The routine is, make homemade chicken broth on Saturday, store, skim fat, make a hearty chicken barley soup on Sunday.
I love the chickpea and spinach thing. I will try this next weekend.
Have you written yet about your methodology for recipe making? that is, this was a single impromptu dinner. Do you cook it again and then transpose the amounts and descriptions, or is the one time enough? Do you take notes while you cook?
Mark is a stickler in terms of recipes. He is very literal. I am more *ahem* free form and artistic. He will ask me to read back a recipe word-for-word and if the recipe is at all vague, he is flummoxed!!
Although I might add in more spinach, I love this healthy version of pork and beans. It’s so appetizing too.
Kitty, your soup making routine sounds delicious! Regarding methodology, I think that word is too grand to describe my, um, process. Usually, if something appears on Blue Kitchen, it’s been cooked once and made the grade. Every once in a while, I’ll cook something that I think is going to make a great post, but when we eat it, it’s just meh. If the dish has any promise at all, Marion and I will discuss ways to improve it and try again. But other times, we just move on.
And as much as I’ve come to improvise in the kitchen, I understand Mark’s frustration. I just picked up Thomas Jefferson’s Cook Book—Jefferson has been hailed as America’s first foodie—and the recipes are each a single, short paragraph. Period. From what I’ve seen of other really old cookbooks, that was pretty much the norm back then. Not very exacting at all. Still, I hope to get a future post out of this book. Stay tuned.
Angela—Well, of course you would add more spinach. Your blog is called Spinach Tiger, for crying out loud! (Thanks!)
I certainly hope there is cumin in heaven! And porkchops, too! Looks delish!
I made this tonight. I loved it! Even Mr meat and potatoes liked it.
I will definately make it again.
Thanks, Rowdy! And I’m with you on pork chops in heaven.
I’m glad it was a hit, Texcin. Thanks for letting me know.
Oh my goodness I love your blog! Chickpeas are amazing arent they?! I just started a recipe blog and feature ROASTEd chickpeas!! SO GOOD!! Check it out and keep up the amazing work!
we made this tonight (rather, I made it) and it turned out great.
We usually eat one-pot meals – casseroles or stews or soups. The traditional meat plus sides was a novelty! Mark gave this 2 thumbs up, and he is hard to please. He felt like he was eating steak.
We added a dollop of Dijon mustard on the side, which accompanied the heat of the spices but added some acid. Thanks for posting this!