Harira

Spray a large, heavy soup pot with oil. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Place them in the pot, add 1 quart (4 cups) water, and bring to a full boil over high heat. Turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until the chickpeas are barely tender, about 1/2 hours.

Add the lentils and simmer until the chickpeas and lentils are soft, another 45 minutes or so. Add the vegetable stock, bring the mixture back up to a boil, and turn down to a simmer again. Cook, half-covered, for 30 minutes.

During the last 30 minutes of simmer, spray a 10-to 12-inch skillet with oil and place it over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted, add the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent and well on the way to softening, about 7 minutes. Add the celery and cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes. Add the parsley, cilantro, and ginger and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes more. Turn the heat down very low and add the turmeric and cinnamon. Cook, stirring often, until the kitchen is fragrant and the spices have deepened in color, about 10 minutes. Don't let this mixture burn; watch and stir it.

Add the onion mixture to the now-tender lentils and chickpeas, along with the tomatoes, saffron, salt, and pepper. Let the whole pot simmer gently, about 15 minutes. (If making this ahead of time, stop here; let the soup cool to room temperature, then cover it, and refrigerate until ready to reheat it. Pick up at this point the next day.)

Shortly before serving, cook the noodles in boiling salted water according to the package directions until they are barely tender. Drain the noodles into a colander and keep them hot by loosely tenting the colander with foil.

Five minutes before serving, thicken the soup, if you like, following the directions for the thickener of your choice.

If you plan on serving all of the soup at once, stir the noodles into the pot. Otherwise, put a scoop of noodles into each bowl and ladle the soup over them.