Harira

Submerge the dried chickpeas in water in a large bowl and soak overnight or about 12 hours.

Wash the green lentils under the tap.

Strip the celery leaves from the stalks and mince very finely; dice the upper stalks small.

Finely chop the parsley and the coriander to the same size and combine them.

Cut the meat into 1cm strips and then into 1cm cubes, about the size of a chickpea.

Put a pot on high heat with a tablespoon of butter; when melted, add the meat and sear two minutes.

Stir and sear two minutes more, repeating until browned all over and the pot has plenty of browned bits.

Drop to medium, add the diced onion and saute about 3 minutes until slightly translucent.

Add a very small amount of water and deglaze until the bottom of the pot is clear.

Add the diced tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, celery, cinnamon, ginger powder, black pepper, salt and the water.

Bring to a boil on high, reduce to medium, cover and simmer 45 minutes.

Check doneness: the chickpeas mash easily with a fork and the lentils squish with a pasty inside.

Stir in the tomato paste until completely dissolved.

Mix the flour and water into a lump-free slurry, pour it in and stir immediately.

Cook the flour about 2 minutes, stirring, until the soup thickens.

Add the vermicelli, then the chopped parsley and coriander, and cook about 10 minutes until the vermicelli has softened and doubled, stirring every minute.

Thin with water if too thick; serve with a few parsley leaves and lemon wedges, squeezing on the lemon before eating.