Chorizo, Chickpea and Spinach Sauté

I was watching Guy's Big Bite on the Food Network this weekend and saw him make this recipe and thought...mmmm, that sounds good and really thought the Hubs would enjoy it, knowing how much he likes chorizo. Everything always sounds and looks good on the Food Network though...hehe. I've changed his original recipe slightly, so if you want to see it, check out his recipes on the Food Network Web site.

Before moving on to all of the ingredients, take note that this recipe calls for the soft Mexican chorizo, not the hard Spanish variety. I also used a nice picante version of the chorizo because I knew that would give it a bit of a kick and I wouldn't have to worry about seasoning much.

So here we are:

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb Mexican Picante Chorizo, removed from the casing
1 15oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
1 8oz package of fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup Mexican Queso Fresco cheese
Salt and pepper to taste ( I did not use any salt)



Put the olive oil in a sauté pan, and add the chorizo. Heat on a medium flame for about 10 minutes, breaking it apart as it cooks. Add the drained chickpeas to the pan and sauté for approximately 5 minutes.



In same pan, add onions and sauté on low for 10 minutes until onions are soft. Add mushrooms, garlic and pepper and continue to sauté for 5 minutes. It's nice if the mushrooms have a bit of bit to them, not hard, but I don't like them to get too mushy.



Add in spinach (and down't worry that it looks like a hell of a lot of spinach because it reduces so much as it wilts) and chicken broth. Cover and let spinach wilt on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Give it a few gentle stirs to cover the spinach with the mixture, but don't over stir it.



While the spinach was wilting, I popped some bread I'd covered with butter (Smart Balance actually), garlic powder and paprika into the toaster over to make some garlic toast.

A few minutes before serving, toss in most of the cheese, allowing it to soften just a bit. Serve over a small bed of the fresh, uncooked spinach leaves and sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top. Grab an ice cold drink and enjoy!