Chicken And Chickpea Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup water
10 oz baby spinach
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
Kosher salt
Pinch of saffron threads
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
Pinch of ground cloves
LOTS of freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Two 15oz cans chickpeas with the liquid
1 small onion, finely chopped
One 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup golden raisins
Crusty bread, for serving

Preparation

Pour water into a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Add spinach, and tossing, cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander, pressing out all liquid.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in same medium pot over med-high heat. Season chicken with salt; add to pot and cook, turning once, until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and dice when cool enough to handle.

In a small bowl combine ingredients: crushed garlic through cloves (above) and season generously with black pepper. Stir in 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid. Set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in same medium pot until shimmering. Add chopped onion and cook over med-high heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add can of diced tomatoes and the spiced garlic sauce and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chickpeas with remaining fluid, and the raisins and bring to a boil over med-high heat. Add the spinach and the diced chicken and simmer on med-low heat for 15 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste. The spicier, the better!

Serve with crusty bread.