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A well-stocked cupboard is essential for turning out good meals in a crunch. Although I love to collect exotic dried beans at the farmers market, cooking them is usually a weekend activity. Thank goodness my mother-in-law, Cuban queen of beans, taught me that canned beans are a perfectly acceptable substitute when hungry stomachs roar. Here is exhibit A:

Saute in some olive oil and add tastiness with our favorite staple sausage. For this dish I use Spanish chorizo. Unlike Mexican chorizo, it is fairly firm, but when sliced and sauteed, it leaks out its yummy paprika goodness all over its neighbors.

Add a vitamin packed green and within 20 minutes start to finish you have a delightful, nutritious meal.

dinner from the crunchtime cupboard

Preptime: 2 minutes to slice sausage servings 4

Cooktime: 20 minutes

2 c chickpeas, drained and dried with paper towels

2-3 T olive oil

4-6 oz chorizo, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

bag or bunch of spinach

  1. Heat oil in saute pan then add chickpeas to cover in a single layer. Saute over moderate heat shaking pan occasionally until beans are golden brown.
  2. Add chorizo to pan and saute until it gives up its oil and the slices are slightly browned.
  3. Remove chorizo and chickpeas from pan. Add spinach and mix to cover with oil left in pan. Stir around until cooked through-about 3-5 minutes.
  4. Add back chorizo and chickpeas to spinach, mix and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve as is or over whole grain such as brown rice or farro.

recipe adapted from Mark Bittman, NYT by your friends at crunchtimefood.com

1 Comment

  1. Sherri says Jan 27th 2011 12:07 am

    April this looks mighty tasty. I read many lists about well-stocked pantries and they always included canned beans and another acceptable canned food – tomatoes. Guess what – tomatoes do not lose nutrients when they’re cooked!

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