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Garbanzos y Pimientos - Garbanzo and Pepper Stew Garbanzos y Pimientos

By Lisa & Tony Sierra, About.com

Garbanzos y Pimientos - Garbanzos and Pepper Stew

Garbanzos y Pimientos - Garbanzos and Pepper Stew (c) Lisa Sierra Licensed to About.com

Lisa Sierra
Garbanzos are a very typical ingredient in Spain, eaten quite often in the colder weather. This stew is vegetarian, but very satisfying. It can be eaten as a first course or a main course, topped with fried eggs. Although this recipe has several steps, the cooking skills required are minimal. If you can boil water and sauté vegetables, you CAN prepare this bean dish.

Prep Time: 8 hours, 00 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. dried garbanzo beans
  • 1 leak
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 1 carrot
  • salt to taste
  • 6-8 Tablespoons Spanish olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 3 green bell peppers
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 yellow bell peppers
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 6 fried eggs (optional)

Preparation:

Serves 6-7.

Rinse garbanzo beans thoroughly and discard any pebbles or debris that may have been in the package. Place in a large stock pot, covering with 1-2 inches of cold water. Allow to soak overnight, or at least 8 hours.

After soaking, change the water in the garbanzos. Add enough water to cover garbanzos and add the leak, 1 coarsely chopped yellow onion and the carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to low. Simmer for 1 hour. Add salt to taste and remove from heat. Cover pot with lid.

While the garbanzos are cooking, place whole bell peppers over a hot BBQ grill or under the broiler. Turn occasionally, so that you allow skins to bubble and blister on all sides. Then, place in a plastic bag and seal it up. Allow to stand for 15 minutes or so. Now you can open the bag and peel them with your fingers! The steam from inside the bag loosens the skins. For step-by-step details, read the article, How to Roast Bell Peppers by About.com’s Guide to Southern Cooking.

Once the peppers to peeled, be sure you remove the membranes, seeds and stems. Slice into strips.

Peel and thinly slice the yellow and red onions. Chop the tomato. Peel and thinly slice the cloves of garlic.

Pour a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a large frying pan and when hot, add onions, garlic and tomato. Saute for about 5 minutes. Then, add about ½ cup of water to pan and continue to cook another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add strips of roasted peppers. Add salt to taste and remove from heat.

Sofrito is cooked tomato sauce. The Spanish use if often and it can have onions and peppers in it, or simply tomato sauce. In a small frying pan, add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and heat. Add 1 8-oz. can of tomato sauce and stir, cooking for 5-7 minutes or so on medium heat. Reduce heat if tomato sauce splatters too much.

Drain the garbanzos of liquid, but leave in the large pot. Add the pepper mixture and the sofrito to the garbanzos. Stir thoroughly and add salt, if necessary. Heat 5 minutes or so. Serve with bread. Ladle garbanzos into bowls. Top with a fried egg, if desired.

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