Pour lentils or chickpeas onto a large tray and sort through them by hand to remove stones and broken pieces.

Rinse the sorted legumes in a colander under running water until the water runs clear.

First soak and agitate them in a large bowl, then rinse them in a colander under running water.

Check the color of red meat and the eyes and gills of the fish for signs of freshness.

Cut around the rotten part of the vegetable, leaving at least 1–2 cm around it, and use the rest.