Potaje de Garbanzos con Panecillos Granadino

Potaje de garbanzos con panecillos is Granadino, from Granada's inland Andalusian kitchen, and the panecillos are what make it itself. Not croutons. Not dumplings from somewhere else. They are little fried rolls of bread, egg, garlic, and parsley, stirred in whole so they soften at the edges and stay tender in the middle.

The chickpeas decide the stew before the pot ever goes on the fire. Soak them overnight, then start them in hot water and let them simmer gently until creamy. A hard boil roughs them up and clouds the broth. The sofrito, the slow onion and tomato base, goes low until sweet and dark before the pimentón touches it. Rush that and the potaje tastes thin, and no panecillo can fix it for you.

If you are far from Granada, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use good dried chickpeas from a shop with turnover, frozen spinach if the market greens are tired, and pimentón de la Vera if you can get it. For the bread, use day-old country bread or a plain baguette with the crust trimmed. It changes the crumb a little, but the panecillos still do their work.

This is Lenten food with a full stomach, not a punishment. The Margin in my notebook says only: "panecillos al final," panecillos at the end. Put them in too early and they disappear. Put them in for the last few minutes and the potaje comes to the table as it should. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.