Riso con spinaci e ceci - Spinach and Chickpea Rice

I am an early person and I enjoy breakfasts. No brunches but light lunches in my life. 

Here I prepare a spinach and chickpea rice with fried eggs. So simple and so good.

I roughly chop my fresh spinach and I use my frozen chickpeas I soak and cook in bunches. They have better flavour and texture than the tin ones.

I like to have my onion finely chopped by hand.

Here I use fresh spinach, as I hardly cook them, in order to keep their flavour and texture.

I separately cook the Basmati rice, which I combine to the spinach mixture at the very end.

Spinach and Chickpea Rice

200 g Basmati rice
600 ml cold water
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
250 g fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped
150 g chickpeas, cooked
4 eggs
Extra virgin oil
Sea salt
Black pepper

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

1. In a pan, arrange the rice, cover with water and bring to the boil. Add a pinch of salt and leave to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, covered. No stirring.

2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté the onion with a pinch of salt on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until translucent. Add water, if it starts sticking to the bottom.

3. Add the spinach to the onion and stir until just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Stir the chickpeas into the vegetables and adjust the seasoning.

5. Once cooked, add the rice to the spinach mixture and stir to combine.

6. With a wooden spoon, create four egg-sized holes in the spinach and rice mixture. Break an egg into each hole and cook on low heat for 5 minutes, covered.

7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once.