Potaje de Garbanzos has its roots in Spain's rural cuisine, where cheap and easily available ingredients were turned into a nourishing meal. The lack of expensive animal proteins meant that the dish was also suitable for religious fasting periods, which made it a popular staple during Lent. Over time, it reached the kitchens of all economic classes, where it began to transform into countless variations and became a symbol of home-cooked comfort food. It's the kind of dish many remember fondly as the one their grandmother would prepare on a weekend.