adharas' Tunisian Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Lentils

adharas found this in her local newspaper & it sounds wonderful.

• 1 cup uncooked chickpeas, soaked overnight (or 1 to 2, 15-ounce cans chickpeas)
• Water
• 1 cup uncooked lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups minced onion
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 6 cups chopped tomatoes, peeling and seeding optional
• Black pepper and cayenne to taste
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
• Yogurt (optional)
• Minced fresh parsley (optional)
• A few currants (optional)

Place the soaked, uncooked chickpeas in large pot and cover with water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook 1 hour. (If you're using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain them, and set them aside.)

Add lentils and cinnamon stick, partially cover again, and cook another 30 minutes, or until chickpeas and lentils are perfectly tender, but not mushy. (If you're using canned chickpeas, just cook the lentils with the cinnamon stick in 7 cups water until tender, about 30 minutes.) Remove and discard cinnamon stick, and drain legumes, saving water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, salt, turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cumin and bay leaves, and sauté over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, or until onions are very soft.

Add 6 cups of the reserved cooking water from lentils (supplement with fresh water if there's not enough) and the tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook another 15 minutes or so. (The timing does not need to be exact.) Fish out and discard the bay leaves.

Stir in chickpeas and lentils, and cook about 5 minutes longer (but not too much longer, because you don't want legumes to become mushy). Season to taste with black pepper, cayenne and lemon juice.

Serve hot, topped with some yogurt and a sprinkling of parsley, if desired, and pass a small bowl of currants. Makes 6 servings (maybe a little more).