Spanish Chickpea and Salt Cod Stew

This chickpea stew with cod is Spain’s BEST-KEPT stew recipe. As you will only find it at the restaurant Taverna la Montillana in the city of Córdoba. It’s packed with flavors, easy to make and all done in a little over 40 minutes. Serve it next to a crunchy baguette and a bottle of Spanish red wine for an incredible meal.

What makes this stew stand out above the rest, is that you top it off with some delicious homemade cod fritters. Which truly takes this dish to another level of goodness. The secret, add the fritters when you are platting the stew, that way they don’t lose that light crispy crunch.

As always, for this recipe I used canned chickpeas. Just to make things easier & quicker. If you prefer to use dried chickpeas. Just soak them overnight in plenty of water and then boil the following day for 1 to 2 hours or until tender.

For the saffron in this recipe, choose whole threads from Golden Saffron so you can measure the amount called for.

Check the salt cod packaging to see whether the fish has already been desalted. If you prefer to start with fresh fish, use Spanish seafood stew with beans.

How to Make Spanish Chickpea and Salt Cod Stew

1. Fill a small sauce pan half ways with water, season generously with sea salt and heat with a high heat, when it comes to a boil, add in the cod fillet and lower to a low-medium heat, cook for 6 to 7 minutes or until just cooked through, then drain into a colander and set aside.
2. In the meantime, heat a stock pot with a medium heat and add in 2 tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
3. While the oil is heating, finely chop 1 small onion, roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic, thinly slice 1 celery stick and cut 2 carrots (peeled) into small bite-size pieces
4. Add the cut vegetables into the stock pot, mix continuously, after 3 to 4 minutes and the vegetables are lightly sauteed, add in the paprika and ground cumin, quickly mix together, then add in two tomatoes finely grated and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix together and then simmer
5. Once the grated tomatoes have slightly thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes, add in the canned chickpeas (drained & rinsed), the vegetable broth, saffron and bay leaf, turn it up to a high heat and give it a gentle mix, when it comes to a boil place a lid on the pan and lower to a low-medium heat
6. While the stew is simmering make the cod fritters, add the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle, crack in the egg and whisk the egg, then add in the beer and whisk everything together until you get a creamy batter, then add in 1 small onion finely chopped, 2 cloves garlic finely chopped, the chopped parsley and season with sea salt & black pepper, mix together
7. Roughly chop the cod fillet we boiled earlier, add into the batter and give it one final mix
8. Heat a fry pan with a medium heat and add in 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil.
9. After a couple of minutes, add in small spoonfuls of the batter, making sure all the fritters are in a single layer and evenly spaced out, fry for 3 minutes per side or until golden fried, then transfer into a dish with paper towels
10. After simmering the stew for about 20 minutes remove the lid, add in the spinach and mix until lightly wilted, remove from the heat
11. Transfer the stew into serving dishes and top off with a couple of the cod fritters, enjoy!

Taste the broth before adding extra salt, since the cod can season it on its own. For a chickpea dish without fish, try Garbanzos a la Catalana.