Potaje de Garbanzos con Espinacas y Bacalao

BEFORE YOU EAT YOUR FIRST SPOONFUL OF THIS RICH SOUP, STOP. LEAN OVER THE BOWL AND GENTLY INHALE THE INTENSE AROMA OF THE SPICES AND SALT COD. IT IS BEAUTIFUL, TRULY BEAUTIFUL. THIS DISH IS FOUND THROUGHOUT SPAIN, BUT THIS VERSION COMES FROM SIERRA DE FRANCIA. SALT COD IS UBIQUITOUS ACROSS THE NATION. DRY, HARD AND, ONCE UPON A TIME, CHEAP, IT WAS TRANSPORTED FROM THE COAST ON THE BACK OF MULES AND WAS THE PROTEIN OF CHOICE IN CATHOLIC SPAIN — A COUNTRY THAT HELD FAST TO THE CHURCH’S RULES