This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)

The Cuaresma or Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, and ends on Holy Thursday. During the duration of lent or Cuaresma, Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays, and this religious practice has led to many traditional dishes of Cuaresma which are for the most part made with fish, eggs, vegetables, and legumes. You don’t have to be Catholic or wait until the Cuaresma to enjoy these wonderful dishes. Today, I want to introduce you to one of my favorite Cuaresma dishes: El Potaje de Vigilia which I have translated into “Spanish Lent Stew”-I hope you enjoy this healthy, and wonderful stew.

Spanish, Easter, Stew

 1 Leek (chopped)
 2 Tomatoes (cut in small cubes)
 1 Onion (Chopped)
 3 Cloves of garlic (chopped)
 1 Cubanele pepper
 500 g Desalted cod
 500 g Dried chickpeas (Soak them the night before)
 250 g spinach
 1 Bay leave
 1 tsp Sweet Paprika
 4 tbsp Olive Oil
 Salt

1

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan, and fry a thick slice of bread with a clove of garlic. Once fried, crush the garlic with the bread, and a little bit of coarse salt in a mortar, and make a paste. Set aside.
In a pressure cooker, add the olive oil and fry the garlic with the onion until soft. Add the chopped leek, the pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes, and add the tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, and add the bread paste, and a teaspoon of paprika. Once cooked, remove the mixture from the pressure cooker and place it in a blender until smooth.
Return the mixture to the pressure cooker, add the chickpeas, the cod, and the spinach, add the salt, and enough water or fish stock to cover the ingredients. Close the pressure cooker lid and cook for 20 minutes.

Ingredients

 1 Leek (chopped)
 2 Tomatoes (cut in small cubes)
 1 Onion (Chopped)
 3 Cloves of garlic (chopped)
 1 Cubanele pepper
 500 g Desalted cod
 500 g Dried chickpeas (Soak them the night before)
 250 g spinach
 1 Bay leave
 1 tsp Sweet Paprika
 4 tbsp Olive Oil
 Salt

Directions

1

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan, and fry a thick slice of bread with a clove of garlic. Once fried, crush the garlic with the bread, and a little bit of coarse salt in a mortar, and make a paste. Set aside.
In a pressure cooker, add the olive oil and fry the garlic with the onion until soft. Add the chopped leek, the pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes, and add the tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, and add the bread paste, and a teaspoon of paprika. Once cooked, remove the mixture from the pressure cooker and place it in a blender until smooth.
Return the mixture to the pressure cooker, add the chickpeas, the cod, and the spinach, add the salt, and enough water or fish stock to cover the ingredients. Close the pressure cooker lid and cook for 20 minutes.

Potaje (Spanish Lent Stew)
 
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