Spanish Chickpea Stew

Directions

1. 1
   18-24 hours ahead:
2. 2
   For 18-24 hours, soak the dried salt cod in a large bowl with enough cold water to cover the cod. Change the water 3-4 times before cooking in step 1.
3. 3
   The night before:
4. 4
   Put chickpeas in a large bowl and pour enough cold water into the bowl to cover chickpeas. Set aside overnight to soak.
5. 5
   1. Drain and rinse chickpeas and remove discolored ones. Put the chickpeas in a pot with the 4 cups water, the bay leaves, 1 whole onion (just peeled) and the cloves of garlic (whole) without removing the peel, just with a small cut. Then bring to a boil and boil them for 30 minutes in a pressure pot or 70-80 minutes for a normal one. (Check your pot instructions for cooking chickpeas).
6. 6
   2. Turn off the heat and keep the chickpeas in the pot.
7. 7
   3. Remove the cloves of garlic and the onion and set aside.
8. 8
   4. In a skillet fry the slice of white bread with olive oil over medium heat until golden (1-2 minutes each side). Remove bread from the skillet and set aside. Leave the oil in the skillet.
9. 9
   5. Chop the second onion. Add it into the same skillet with the oil that remains in there. Cook over low heat for 12-15 minutes.
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    6. Turn off the heat, add the Spanish sweet paprika and stir for 1-2 minutes.
11. 11
    7. Boil the eggs in a small pot with water for 10 minutes, or use your favorite method for hard boiled eggs.
12. 12
    8. In a large mortar, place the cloves of garlic and the onion from step 3. Add a bunch of fresh parsley, the fried bread and the fried onion. Use a pestle to grind.
13. 13
    9. Peel then chop the hard-boiled eggs.
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    10. Bring the pot with the chickpeas to a boil again and add the mixture from the mortar. Drain, dice and add the cod. Simmer and stir for 5 minutes.
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    11. Add the hard-boiled eggs and the fresh spinach, stir and simmer for 5 minutes.
16. 16
    12. Serve and enjoy your Spanish chickpea stew recipe (Potaje).