Ash-e reshteh is a famous Persian noodle soup thick with beans and herbs. It is eaten all year-round and specifically on Chahar Shanbeh Souri and Sizdeh Bedar. This soup is an intensely aromatic and flavourful, delicious, nutritious and healthy meal. It gives you a complete meal – it’s the ultimate one-pot-wonder.
Ingredients (soup) (serves 4)
- 1 bag of dried herb mix (100g) (available here)
- 1 large, sweet onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ cup of lentils (available here)
- ½ tsp turmeric (available here)
- 1 tin, or ½ a cup of dried chickpeas (soaked) (available here)
- 1 tin, or ½ a cup of dried kidney beans (soaked) (available here)
- 225g of linguine (half a 500g pack)
- 2 tbsp sour cream (or Kashk)
- Salt to taste
- 6 cups of water
Ingredients (topping)
- 4 tablespoons of oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic
- ½ tsp turmeric (available here)
- 2 tbsp dried mint (available here)
- ½ cup of sour cream (alternative to kashk)
Instructions
- Chop and fry the onions until well cooked, then add turmeric, salt and water, and let simmer for 15 minutes
- If using pre-soaked, dried beans and chickpeas, these together with dried herbs and lentils and cook for another 30 minutes
- If using canned beans and chickpeas, add these after cooking the herbs and lentils for 30 minutes
- Finally, add noodles and cook for 10/15 minutes
- Add sour cream (or Kashk) and salt to taste
- To make the topping, fry sliced onions and garlic, then saute dried mint separately with some more oil
- Pour in a bowl and decorate it with sour cream and other toppings