Soak the chickpeas for eight hours, or overnight, in plenty of cold
water.
Place the chickpeas, carrot, celery, half of the chopped onion, and
the bayleaf, in a large pan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil,
and boil hard for ten minutes. Lower the heat, and simmer for one hour,
or until the chickpeas are soft.
Fry the rest of the onion in a little olive oil, until softened, then
add the garlic. Peel the tomato, by dropping in boiling water, then
straight into cold water, which helps to loosen the skin. Chop, and
add to the cooking onion and garlic, along with the paprika and sugar,
and a pinch of salt. Once heated through, lower the heat, cover, and
cook gently for ten minutes, stirring frequently (you may need to add
a little water to prevent sticking).
At the same time, add the spinach to the chickpea pan. When the onion/tomato
mixture has cooked for ten minutes, add to the chickpeas. Check the
seasoning, and serve with warm chunks of bread. And most important of
all...
Enjoy!
