Spanish Vegetable Stew

One of the things I enjoy most about cooking is taking what is lying around (vegetables, leftovers, small animals, etc.) and turning them into something good with a recipe of my own design. Well, after last night, we had some things we had to use up soon before they went bad, namely a bunch of spinach and the romesco sauce.

A few years ago we went to Italy and were introduced to a Tuscan classic soup called Ribollita. Essentially, it is a soup with bread, black cabbage (AKA cavolo nero) and loads of vegetables. Well, this is my Spanish-influenced answer to Ribollita, which really went down a treat a few minutes ago. Most importantly, it tasted great. Also, it is pretty nutritious in the end. Great for a rainy, lazy afternoon like today.

The romesco gives off a nice mellow heat in the background, coupled with the smokiness of the paprika and the herbiness of the parsley and general good veggie flavor. Yummy!

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium onion, chopped
5 small carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 small red chile, finely chopped
salt and black pepper
1 cup ROMESCO
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 liters chicken stock or water
1 half baguette, torn into pieces
200 g spinach leaves, washed, spun dry
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until hot. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, chile and a pinch each of salt and pepper to the pot and stir occasionally to sweat them down, until the onions are translucent and soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the romesco sauce and let this cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously, until it turns dark and is giving off it's aroma.

Add the potatoes and stir through to coat them in the sauce. Add the stock and turn the heat up to bring the liquid to the boil. Add the bread pieces, stir through, ten turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the spinach, chickpeas, salt and pepper and paprika, stir thoroughly and cook for another 20 minutes, covered.

Check for seasoning (it will need a fair bit of salt to bring the flavors out) and serve hot.