Chickpeas with Rice. A healthy Meal

Open Letter to Chefs

Hi Pablo,

As I told you on Monday, this is the meal that Julio and I have been talking at last cycling route: chickpeas with rice. Julio ask me to send him the recipe when we cycling.

It’s a typical Leon meal which my wife prepares very often as first course. It’s a easy meal and very healthy. And see you if It’s so easy than I can do it, jaja.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

   . Chickpeas (of course), four handfuls (handful is a capacity measure and it depends of hand size, jeje. It’s more or less as a teacup). I recommend you the “pico pardal”, a chickpeas class that they are small but very tasty and normally they don´t peel in cooking.

                . Rice, a coffee cup (only one, you remember the name, Chickpeas with Rice, not Rice with chickpeas).

                . Garlic

                . Onion

                . Olive oil

                . Salt

                . Sweet paprika

Preparation:

1    1st.    Boil the chickpeas with a half clean onion into a Express pot for 15 minutes (important: you don’t chop the onion, it must be entire). The water must cover the chickpeas one finger, more or less. You shouldn’t add salt because chickpeas are a little salty.

2       2sd. When finish cooking, you open the pot, remove the onion and you must put back on fire and when the water start to boil, you add the rice. Stir slowly and leave boil for 12-15 minutes. You can taste and if should be necessary, add a pinch of salt or more. Of course, for boil the rice, don’t use Express technique.

3       3rd. While the rice is cooking, peel and chop a clove of garlic. Fry lightly in a pan with pure olive oil. When the garlic is golden, you switch off the fire, and retire the pan from the heat. Add a half teaspoon of sweet paprika and stir a minute, out of the fire.

*       4th. And finally, when the rice finish cooking, pour the oil into a pot with the chickpeas and rice, and It’s just for eat.

It’s very easy, really. And remember: It’s a first course. Bon appetit, guy

See you later.

Ignacio Vázquez

Iniciacion en una Nocturna

Vaya alegría ver llover hoy por la tarde tras el cristal de mi ventana.

Para celebrar la llegada del agua, cuando caian las últimas gotas, salimos a rodar Águeda y yo. Seixalbo arriba por Coto de Áspera para llegar al Alto del Cumial sobre las 9 de la noche. Colocamos la luminaria para regresar a Seixalbo por el descenso de las torres de alta tensión. Vaya gozada, y salvo en el inicio donde los primeros 20 metros hay unos escalones, el resto lo bajó todo encima de la bici, alucinando como baja para ser una iniciada.

En 20 km. subió casi 400 metros de acumulado con una sonrisa en la cara, mientras en Paris se me quejaba con 568 metros repartidos en 77 km. Esta ruta supuso la iniciación de mi hija en su primera nocturna. Con ella ya he salido varias veces en la bici por las mañanas intentando que fuera por piedrinas suaves, pero piedrinas de todas formas.

Por cierto, vaya maravilla ese olor a tierra mojada por el monte; ya casi no recordaba la sensación de rodar por pistas húmedas con la tierra más compactada.


SALud