The All-Healing Chickpea-Chorizo Frittata
Last week, my daughter transformed into a miniature Darth Vader: her breathing was dangerously raspy and uneven. Her eyes drooped. She ran high fevers. We spent whole days on the couch, wrapped in blankets. At night, I became an anxious new mama again, leaning over her while she slept to make sure she was still breathing.
Slowly the fevers subsided, and I started to take breaks away from our couch-cocoon. It was cold outside, the cupboards were full, and we probably wouldn’t leave the house ’til spring. So, I cooked. One of the best things I made was this chickpea frittata, inspired by a wonderful recipe from Food52. I mean, COME ON: chickpeas in a frittata? What took me so long?! I made some modifications — I like a bigger frittata, I think yogurt helps even out the consistency, and I must say, the sweet potato-chorizo combination is pretty terrific, too.
Thank goodness for all that cooking, because suddenly it’s my turn to be sick. I keep thinking I should want soup, because isn’t that the classic accompaniment for Dayquil and Nyquil and tissues and cold weather? But instead, I’ve been helping myself to another slice of this frittata. It’s spicy and sweet and nutty and colorful, and just filling enough. If you need rescuing anytime soon, I hope a chickpea frittata will be there for you, too.
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 chorizo sausages, diced (about a cup and a half)
2–3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups spinach (frozen or fresh and finely chopped)
1 ½ cups chickpeas
1 small sweet potato, cooked and chopped (about ¾ cup)
7–8 large eggs, beaten
½ cup plain yogurt
salt and black pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 10”-ish baking dish with olive oil and set it aside.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for a few minutes in olive oil. Then add the garlic, diced chorizo, chickpeas, sweet potato and paprika and sauté a few minutes more.
3. Add the spinach and cook just a minute or two more until it wilts.
4. In a big bowl, beat the eggs, add the yogurt and mix well. Add in the contents of the skillet. Season with salt and black pepper.
5. Scrape the mixture into a baking dish. Bake for ~45 minutes. Eat warm.
Natalie Eve Garrett is an artist and writer. In addition to frittatas, she is also cooking up a delicious collection of food stories and recipes called The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook.
