Chef Isabel
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Garbanzos con Jamón a la Castellana
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Garbanzos con jamón are Castilian spoon food: chickpeas, serrano ham, pimentón, and a slow sofrito cooked dark enough to make a simple pot taste full.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
One Pot
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 5 min cook•1 hr 25 min total
Yield4 servings
Garbanzos con jamón a la castellana belong to Castile, where chickpeas and cured pork have fed hard-working tables for a long time. This is not a thick mountain cocido with every meat in the house, and it is not a thin broth with a little ham waved over it. It is chickpeas, jamón, pimentón, and a slow sofrito, the slow onion base that gives the pot its body.
The method that decides it is the sofrito. Cook the onion low until it turns dark gold and sweet, then let the tomato lose its water before the pimentón goes in. Rush that part and the stew tastes thin, no matter how good the ham is. Do it patiently and the chickpeas taste as if they have been cooking with more than they have.
If you're far from Spain, use a good dry-cured ham that is not sweet and not smoked. Prosciutto works better than boiled ham, and a meaty ham bone is a gift if you have one. Canned chickpeas are allowed for a weeknight, claro que sí, but rinse them and simmer them long enough to take the flavor. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Garbanzos con jamón belong to the Castilian habit of cocina de cuchara, spoon food built from legumes, preserved pork, and a little oil rather than abundance. In the inland provinces, cured ham from the household larder gave flavor to chickpeas when a larger cocido was not being made. The dish sits close to the old economy of the matanza, where every cured piece had a job and a small amount of jamón could season a whole pot.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
serrano ham
Quantity
150g
cut into small dice
onion
Quantity
1 large
finely chopped
carrot
Quantity
1 small
finely diced
garlic
Quantity
3 cloves
minced
ripe tomato or canned crushed tomato
Quantity
200g grated fresh or 150g canned
sweet pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
bay leaf
Quantity
1
cooked chickpeas
Quantity
500g
or 2 x 400g cans, drained and rinsed
low-salt chicken stock or water
Quantity
600ml
salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| extra virgin olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| serrano hamcut into small dice | 150g |
| onionfinely chopped | 1 large |
| carrotfinely diced | 1 small |
| garlicminced | 3 cloves |
| ripe tomato or canned crushed tomato | 200g grated fresh or 150g canned |
| sweet pimentón de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| cooked chickpeasor 2 x 400g cans, drained and rinsed | 500g |
| low-salt chicken stock or water | 600ml |
| salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 4 liter pot or cazuela
- •Wooden spoon
- •Box grater for the tomato
Instructions
- 1
Brown the ham
Warm the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the diced serrano ham and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until its edges darken and the fat shines in the oil. Lift out one spoonful of ham for finishing if you like; leave the rest in the pot.
- 2
Cook the sofrito
Add the onion and carrot with a small pinch of salt, remembering the ham is already salty. Lower the heat and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is dark gold, soft, and sweet. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. This slow cook is where the sweetness comes from; rush it and the pot tastes thinner.
- 3
Reduce the tomato
Stir in the grated tomato and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until it has lost its raw smell and the oil begins to show at the edges. Take the pot off the heat for a moment, stir in the pimentón, then return it to low heat. Pimentón burns quickly and turns bitter, so give it respect, not drama.
Use pimentón de la Vera if you can. Sweet is the usual choice here; picante is fine only if you want a little heat. - 4
Simmer the chickpeas
Add the chickpeas, bay leaf, and stock or water. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broth turns glossy and lightly thickened. Crush a small ladleful of chickpeas against the side of the pot and stir them back in if you want more body.
- 5
Settle and serve
Taste before adding salt; the jamón may have done most of the work. Add black pepper, remove the bay leaf, and let the pot rest 10 minutes off the heat so the broth settles around the chickpeas. Serve in shallow bowls with the reserved ham and parsley if using. Bread beside it is not decoration, it has a job.
Chef Tips
- •For a longer weekend pot, soak 250g dried chickpeas overnight, then simmer them with a bay leaf until tender before starting the sofrito. Keep some of their cooking water; it gives a better broth than boxed stock.
- •If you can't find serrano ham, use prosciutto or another unsmoked dry-cured ham. Avoid sweet deli ham; it gives the stew the wrong flavor and turns soft in the pot.
- •Canned chickpeas make this a proper weeknight dish, but buy a firm brand and rinse them well. Simmer them at least 25 minutes so they taste of the sofrito and jamón, not of the tin.
Advance Preparation
- •The sofrito can be cooked up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator; warm it gently before adding the chickpeas.
- •The finished stew keeps 3 days in the refrigerator and is better the next day. Reheat gently with a splash of water if it has thickened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 380g)
Calories
380 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
1350 mg
Total Carbohydrates
38 g
Dietary Fiber
10 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
24 g
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