Spanish vegetarian chickpea stew

Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a colander.

Cut the peeled potatoes into half inch bite-sized pieces.

Finely chop the onion, roughly chop four cloves of garlic, finely chop the bell pepper and roughly chop the peeled carrot.

Heat a stock pot over medium heat with the extra virgin olive oil.

Add the blanched almonds and the four whole garlic cloves and mix continuously so they do not brown too quickly and turn bitter.

After 3 to 4 minutes, when lightly sauteed, transfer them to a mortar and set aside.

In the same pot add all the chopped vegetables except the potatoes and saute 3 to 4 minutes, mixing continuously.

Add the sherry vinegar, the smoked paprika and the cumin and mix.

Add the grated tomato, season with sea salt and black pepper, mix and simmer a couple of minutes without stirring until slightly thickened.

Add the potatoes, the chickpeas and just enough vegetable broth to barely cover.

Add the bay leaf, raise to high heat and bring to a boil.

Cover and simmer on low medium 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are just cooked through.

Pound the almonds and garlic with the parsley and a kiss of sea salt to a paste-like texture.

Stir the almond and garlic paste into the stew to finish and thicken it.

Serve in a shallow bowl and garnish with fresh parsley.