Aash E Aaloo Persian Soup Recipes

ASH-E RESHTEH (PERSIAN LEGUME SOUP)

Steps:

• Place the chickpeas and kidney beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; stir in red onion. Cook and stir until onion has turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low; continue cooking and stirring until onion is tender and golden brown, about 40 minutes more. Stir in dried mint; cook until onions become dark brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Set aside for garnish.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a stock pot; stir in yellow onions. Cook and stir until onion has turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas, kidney beans, and turmeric; toss to combine. Stir in vegetable stock; simmer soup for 1 hour.
• Stir parsley, cilantro, mint, scallions, and lentils into soup; simmer 30 minutes more. Break linguine into 3 sections, stir into soup, and cook at a low boil until noodles are soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Stir 1/2 of the spinach to the soup until wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining spinach and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir flour with 3 tablespoons of the soup liquid together in a small bowl until smooth. Stir flour mixture back into soup. Continue to simmer soup over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 30 minutes.
• Serve soup with yogurt and fried red onions.

ASH-E-JOW (IRANIAN/PERSIAN BARLEY SOUP)

Steps:

• Heat the chicken stock in a pot to a gentle simmer.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onion until translucent. Add the pearl barley to the pot and stir for one minute. Stir in the hot chicken stock, turmeric, lime juice, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour.
• Mix in the carrots and continue simmering 30 minutes or until the soup has thickened and the carrots and barley are tender. If the soup is too thick, add hot water, one tablespoon at a time.
• Place the sour cream in a small bowl. Slowly pour 1/2 cup of hot soup mixture into sour cream, whisking constantly. Gradually add the sour cream mixture into the soup pot, whisking constantly. Stir in the fresh parsley. Serve with fresh lime wedges.

PERSIAN NOODLE AND BEAN SOUP-- AASH-E RESHTEH

Steps:

• Combine dried beans and grains in a large bowl, add water to cover, and let soak for 8 hours.
• Wash greens and herbs well. The best way to do this is to soak in cool water and swish leaves around. Let sit for a couple minutes and lift out into a colander and rinse with water. Repeat a couple more times to remove any dirt. Allow to dry well. Chop all in batches in food processor and set aside.
• After 8 hours, pour off water from beans and grains. Transfer beans and grains to a large pot and add water to cover by two inches. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, skim off all the foam possible. Once the beans begin to soften, add garlic and ginger. Season with a couple teaspoons of salt. Once the beans are halfway cooked, add green and herbs. Season with pepper. Prepare onions.
• Cut onions in half once lengthwise and once crosswise to form quarters. Thinly slice into short slivers. Heat oil in a large skillet and fry onions until golden. Strain onions to remove excess oil. Set aside a couple tablespoons for serving. Add remaining onion to pot with beans and greens. If liquid in the pot is running low, add boiling water to keep the mixture loose. Ideally, the water will be two inches higher than the beans in the pot. Simmer beans and greens mixture for 20 minutes. Add noddles to pot and simmer 30 minutes until all ingredients are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add boiling water if mixture is too thick. The soup should be rather thick, but it should remain pourable.
• To serve, top with whey or sour cream, fresh or dried mint fried in olive oil, minced garlic fried in olive oil (do not let it gain color or it will be bitter), and fried onions.

AASH-E SHALGHAM

Steps:

• Mix ground meat with grated onions, salt and black pepper.
• Shape into small balls, and fry in oil until colour changes.
• Add 4-5 glasses of hot water and split peas and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
• Wash turnip and rice.
• Peel turnip and cut into a few pieces.
• Add both to aash.
• Also add turmeric, salt and black pepper.
• Mix well and cook over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• If using fresh mint, wash and chop finely.
• Fry mint in oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes and pour over aash when serving.