Aash E Aaloo Persian Soup Food

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.

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 RESHTEH RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the soup ingredients.
• In a large Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot, heat the oil on medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and saute, stirring continuously, until aromatic and lightly golden, about 15 minutes.
• Add the turmeric and saute for a couple of minutes before adding the pinto beans, kidney beans, and garbanzo beans.
• Add the water, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the beans begin to turn tender, about 60 minutes.
• Add the lentils, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook over low heat until the beans and lentils are tender, about 30 minutes more.
• Add the parsley, cilantro, dill, spinach, green onions, and lemon juice. Gently stir until everything is well combined in the pot.
• Cover, and cook on low heat for 30 minutes. The soup will be dense with ingredients and the consistency should resemble a thick soup at this stage.
• Add the noodles, gently stirring them into the soup. Cover and cook on low heat until the noodles are al dente, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally during cooking to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Add the Kashk (or sour cream) and stir until it is fully integrated into the soup.
• Turn off the heat and allow the Aash to sit for 10 minutes before serving with the toppings.
• Gather the toppings ingredients to prepare while the soup is cooking.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onions and saute, stirring constantly until light golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in the salt and transfer to a small heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
• Lower the heat to low. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same skillet. Add the garlic and saute until golden and aromatic, taking care not to burn the garlic, about 1 minute.
• Using a fork or a slotted spoon, remove the garlic from the pan and add it to the bowl with onions.
• Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to the same skillet. Add the dried mint, stirring constantly until just combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the onion and garlic mixture, stirring to combine.
• Serve the Aash in a soup bowl, garnish with the Kashk (or sour cream) topping, and the onion-garlic-mint topping,

ASH-E ANAR (PERSIAN POMEGRANATE SOUP)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in split peas; cook until peas take on a bit of color, about 1 minute.
• Pour chicken stock into the pot. Add pepper, turmeric, paprika, cayenne, fennel seeds, and cinnamon stick. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender, about 20 minutes.
• While soup is simmering, prepare meatballs. Mix lamb, minced onion, mint, parsley, and garlic together. Form into walnut-sized meatballs. Drop meatballs into the simmering soup. Cook until no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes.
• Discard cinnamon stick from the soup. Add basmati rice, parsley, mint, pomegranate molasses, and honey. Cook until rice softens, about 20 minutes.
• Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with pomegranate seeds and cream.

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.

AASH-E SHOLEH-GHALAMKAR

Steps:

• Soak peas, beans and lentils in water for 4-5 hours.
• Peel and chop onions and fry in oil until slightly golden.
• Cut meat into small pieces and fry with onions until it changes colour.
• Add peas, beans, lentils, turmeric, salt, pepper and hot water, and cook over low heat for about one hour.
• Wash rice and add to the aash. Cook for another 20-30 minutes.
• Wash vegetables and chop finely. Add to aash and cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add more hot water during cooking if necessary.

ASH RESHTEH (PERSIAN GREENS, BEAN AND NOODLE SOUP)

Steps:

• The night before you plan to cook, place chickpeas and white beans in a medium bowl. Add a generous pinch of salt and 2 cups water. Refrigerate overnight.
• The night before or just before cooking, prepare the herbs and greens: Wash spinach, cilantro and parsley, then use a salad spinner to dry very well. Run a knife through the spinach to cut leaves into large pieces. Trim the woody ends from cilantro, parsley and dill so that only leaves and tender stems remain. Roughly chop cilantro, parsley, dill, chives and mint leaves into pieces no larger than a quarter. If preparing ahead of time, wrap chopped greens and herbs in plastic bags and refrigerate overnight.
• To cook, set a large (at least 10-quart) Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat and add 4 tablespoons oil. When the oil shimmers, add the chopped onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is tender and golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
• Drain the beans and add to onion along with the lentils, turmeric and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat the beans with oil and spices. Add the chopped spinach and herbs, along with stock or water, and stir to combine. Partly cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer the soup for 1 hour, stirring regularly to prevent the greens from sticking and burning. If the soup remains very thick even after the greens have wilted, add another 1 to 2 cups water, as needed to thin it.
• Place 1 1/2 cups kashk in a medium bowl. Add a ladle or two of hot soup and whisk to dissolve, then add the mixture to the pot. The kashk will change the color of the soup from bright to milky green. Increase the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then break the noodles in half and add to the pot. Stir gently to mix in the noodles and keep them from sticking together, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are soft and chewy and the beans are completely tender, about 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare the garnishes: Set a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil shimmers, add sliced onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, until golden brown and caramelized, 16 to 18 minutes. Spread cooked onion onto a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil; let cool. Wipe out pan and return to medium heat. Add remaining 1/3 cup oil and warm gently over low heat, then stir in dried mint and remove from heat. Set mint oil aside and allow to steep for at least 5 minutes.
• Place remaining 1/2 cup kashk in a small bowl and thin out with a few tablespoons of water until it's the texture of thin yogurt. Set aside.
• The soup should be as thick as a hearty chili. If it's any thicker, thin it with water, 1/2 cup at a time. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt as needed, accounting for the fact that both the noodles and the kashk are well salted.
• To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls. Drizzle with reserved kashk and mint oil, then top with a sprinkling of golden onions.