Ingredients:

• 6 large fresh tomatoes (or 1 can of peeled tomatoes)
• 1 head of celery (use the entire tender heart with the small leaves)
• 2 onions
• 300 g dried chickpeas
• 100 g dried lentils
• 200 g toasted vermicelli
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 bunch of coriander, absolutely essential
• 3 tbsp flour
• Salt, pepper

Preparing the chickpeas: In a bowl, place the chickpeas with 2 tbsp of washing soda crystals (available at a hardware or chemist store) and cover with boiling water. One hour later, rub the chickpeas between your hands to remove the skins. Add cold water to the bowl — the skins will float to the surface; remove them. Repeat the process until the chickpeas are perfectly clean.

Peel the tomatoes, dice them along with the onions and celery. Place everything in a pressure cooker. Add the chickpeas, lentils, chopped coriander, salt, pepper, and 1.5 litres of water. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 40 minutes.

Open the pressure cooker, bring the soup back to the boil, add the lemon juice and vermicelli, and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add water if necessary. Meanwhile, dissolve the flour in a small bowl with 1 glass of water, mix well until lump-free... Add this mixture to the soup over low heat, stirring constantly. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon.