This meaty chickpea stew is my take on the traditional garbanzas canarias. You can also find it under the name of garbanzas compuestas. It is a very popular dish here in the Canary islands.
Comfort food!
You can find this chickpea dish quite often on a lunch menu, especially in the north of Tenerife where more locals live. We were in La Laguna near Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago and I saw it at least 5 times on a lunch blackboard outside eateries.
It is not just any chickpea stew.
Pig’s Trotters
You need specific ingredients for a traditional garbanzos such as pig’s trotter, chorizo sausage, chickpeas, cumin and tomatoes. Don’t let that trotter scare you off though.
I only use it to give flavor to the base of the stew. And because there’s not a lot of meat on it anyway, I usually discard it before adding the rest of the ingredients.
You can find pig’s trotters in every supermarket here.
Most of them are sold in a salty brine type of liquid. If you are not certain about the amount of salt it will release in the stew, you can let the trotter soak in some cold water of a couple of hours if you like.
Easy Garbanzas Canarias
I added an extra ingredient and personal touch to this stew: the cured pork bone.
I can find them easily in my supermarket in Spain and they give lots of flavor to food. You know, the bone that remains after slicing up a whole cured ham. That is the one, but then chopped up to use in soups and stews like these.
This smoky chickpea stew with pork belly is my take on the traditional garbanzas canarias, also known as garbanzas compuestas.
Do you love chickpeas with chorizo?
Then you should also check out another recipe I made with these lovely ingredients: my Spanish chickpea soup!
Enjoy!
Easy Garbanzas Canarias Recipe
This smoky chickpea stew with pork belly is my take on the traditional garbanzas canarias, a dish that is also known as garbanzas compuestas.
- 1 1/3 lbs dried chickpeas (600 g)
- 9 oz pork belly (250 g)
- 7 oz huesos garron (cured pork bones) (200 g)
- 1 pig trotter in salty brine
- 2- inch dried chorizo sausage (5 cm)
- 1 lb canned chopped tomatoes (450 g)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ small onion chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves peeled
- 1 small red bell pepper sliced
- 3 bay leaves
- ground cumin
- a pinch saffron powder or threads
- paprika powder
- salt
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Soak the dry chickpeas in a large bowl for at least 6 hours.
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Also let the salted pig trotter soak in cold water for 2 hours (optional).
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Then drain the pig trotter and add it together with 4 cups (1l) of water, the peeled whole garlic cloves, cured pork bones and bay leaves to a large pan.
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Bring this to a good boil over high heat and then turn the heat lower. Skim the brownish foam that forms on top while cooking.
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Cook the trotter and bones for about 45 minutes until the broth is lightly brown. Then take the pan off the heat and remove the cooked ingredients using a slotted spoon.
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You can discard the trotter. If you like you can pick the cooked ham off the cured bones to add them back to the stew later on. I also keep the cooked garlic cloves and bay leaves.
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Let the broth cool a little. You will see after a while that there’s this dark brown ‘skin’ kind of layer forming on top. Remove it with a slotted spoon. Then add the pureed tomatoes and the tomato paste to the broth.
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Now add the chopped onion and the sliced red bell pepper.
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Add the cooked garlic cloves, bay leaves and cooked cured ham if you are using it. Season with a pinch of ground cumin and smoked paprika.
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Put the pan back over medium heat and bring the tomato sauce to a light simmer. Cook the sauce for 15 minutes. Then add the pork belly.
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Stir in the drained chickpeas and the chorizo sausage. Also add the saffron (saffron powder or soaked saffron threads and water).
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Simmer the meat in the tomato sauce for 1 hour. Stir regularly. Then turn the heat off and let the stew cool down fully (preferably overnight). An hour before dinner, reheat the chickpea stew. Check the seasoning and add extra smoked paprika or salt to taste if necessary.
