Pan fried chickpeas, baby spinach, smokey applewood bacon and garlic come together to make one of the most delicious side dishes I have ever known!
Bacon is fried first in a skillet and removed, then the chickpeas are briefly cooked before the spinach and garlic are tossed in. The crispy bacon is crumbled over top to finish. Simple but fabulous.
To transform this into a complete meal you can mix in or serve over a cooked grain, couscous, pasta or rice.
There’s a pop of heat from the addition of red pepper flakes but feel free to season this anyway you like. Smoked paprika, cumin and chile powder would work well as would an Italian twist with herbs like basil and oregano.
Pan fried chickpeas, baby spinach, smokey applewood bacon and garlic come together to make a delicious side or even a main dish.
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook bacon until browned and crispy. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Carefully drain grease from skillet.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil, chickpeas and red pepper flakes to skillet and saute over medium heat about 5 minutes, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Add garlic and spinach, toss with chickpeas, when spinach begins to wilt remove from heat.
- Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil and crumble bacon over top.
Notes
Adapted from Epicurious
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Absolutely a dish to keep in mind.
This looks great. I love your side dish Saturdays!
Oh yum! I love the leftovers – usually have them for lunch but for breakfast? Yes, please! A perfect way to start off a fall day, nice and hearty. Have a great day!
Just wanted to say that I threw the last of the leftovers of this recipe into the pan this morning and scrambled them with two eggs for breakfast. Divine!
Hi! We made this tonight. It took me all of a half hour and we both agreed it was a keeper and we'd do it again. I threw in a spoonful of sesame seeds for good measure and no regrets there. I really like the idea of using greens in a dish where the main event is actually something else like chickpeas. We have some chard plants and I have a lot of trouble finding ways to use the chard that are really pleasing to the palate, but this recipe serves that purpose well.