This story is part of On Repeat, a series in which we ask top chefs, cookbook authors, and other famous foodies about the dishes they just can’t quit.
For this week’s installment of On Repeat we turned to bestselling cookbook author, New York Times columnist, and food science explainer extraordinaire J. Kenji López-Alt to find out what meatless main he keeps coming back to. Without hesitation, he pointed to this ginger-y Spanish chickpea and spinach stew (garbanzos con espinacas y jengibre), which he’s been whipping up for at least 15 years. In it, the veggies and legumes simmer in a tomato sauce spiked with ginger and smoked paprika, with a flavor bump from garlic, bay leaves, and a “secret” ingredient: a dash of soy sauce.
Why I love it
“It’s hearty and comforting, especially on chilly and rainy Seattle evenings, and has a complexity that belies its short ingredient list. It’s also dead simple to make and comes together fast. It’s one of my go-to dishes for feeding a mixed crowd of vegans and omnivores.”
What I’ve changed
“I use other greens like kale or collards in here. Sometimes I like to add some diced sweet potatoes to simmer with the garbanzos. In the summer, fresh tomatoes from the garden can work in place of the canned tomatoes. (I blend them into a purée with the ginger and add them directly to the pot after sautéing the onions and garlic.)”
What else I’m into right now
Bivalves. My family cannot get enough oysters, clams, and mussels, which are among the most sustainable seafoods around. I know we’re blessed in that regard living in the Pacific Northwest, but still, it’s wonderful to be able to take advantage of it.
Plastic-free grocery hauls. I just got a set of reusable cotton mesh bags that fold up really tiny to use in place of produce bags at the supermarket. Combined with good canvas totes for small trips or reused cardboard boxes for bigger hauls, my grocery shopping now has the potential to be 100% plastic-free. [Editor’s Note: Some of the Cool Beans crew tote these from Dans le Sac, but you can also find some on Amazon.]
Bike, bike, bike! E-bikes and infrastructure are making biking so much easier and more appealing these days. I have a RadWagon 4 with a covered bench in the back big enough to carry both of my kids and keep them warm and dry even through rainy Seattle winters. It has replaced the car for virtually every trip within the city.