Chickpea and Spinach Curry

Last year, when I became pescatarian for Lent, I went through and bookmarked a bunch of vegetarian recipes from Epicurious. Occasionally, when I'm looking for inspiration, I remember those recipes and revisit them. This time I realized that I had the makings for one of the dishes and put it on the menu. Better yet, it even used the slow-cooker, though it could be adjusted for the stovetop. Based on some of the reviews, I bumped up some of the spices and added more, but it was still a tad on the bland side. Next time I would add more garam masala, curry powder, and cayenne powder. The website calls this "spicy", but there was almost no heat!

Chickpea and Spinach Curry
adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried chickpeas, picked over
• 8 cups baby spinach leaves
• 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
  
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Preparation

In large bowl, combine chickpeas and enough cold water to cover by two inches. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain chickpeas, then combine in slow cooker with 1 cup water. Cover and cook on high, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 hours. Add spinach, tomatoes and their juices, coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, curry, cayenne, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook 1 hour more. Sprinkle in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir in cilantro and serve.