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1
Pour a generous film of olive oil into a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the bread cube and fry, turning, until deep golden on all sides. Remove the bread and set aside. In the same oil, fry the garlic cloves until they are pale gold. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the paprika and stir for no more than ten seconds — the oil should colour but not smoke; the paprika must not darken or the sauce will be bitter.
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2
Add the sherry vinegar to the pan off the heat and stir to lift any sediment. Transfer the fried bread, fried garlic, cumin, saffron, and the pan's spiced oil to a mortar or small blender. Grind or blend to a smooth, cohesive paste — this is the picada that thickens and carries all the spice in the finished dish. This step is where the dish lives or dies: if the bread is not sufficiently golden and the paste not fully integrated, the sauce will be thin and the spice distribution uneven.
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3
Wilt the spinach in a dry pan or with only the water clinging to its leaves, over high heat, until fully collapsed. Turn it into a colander, allow it to cool briefly, then squeeze firmly with both hands to expel as much water as possible — the compressed leaves should feel almost dry to the squeeze.
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4
Return the frying pan to low heat. Add the chickpeas, the squeezed spinach, and the picada paste. Stir to coat everything evenly in the spiced paste. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, adding a small splash of water only if the mixture threatens to catch. The finished stew should be cohesive and thick — not soupy — and the chickpeas should smell of cumin and saffron throughout.
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5
Remove from the heat and rest, covered, for 30 minutes. During this rest the chickpeas absorb the spiced sauce and the flavours integrate. Taste for salt and vinegar before serving. The stew should be earthy, nutty, and carry a clear acid note at the back of the palate.