Ash Reshteh Food

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.

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.

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-RESHTEH (PERSIAN HERBS, VEGETABLES & NOODLE SOUP)

Steps:

• Pick over, wash and soak the beans and chickpeas for about 2 hours. In a large pot cook for 40 minutes with 6 cups water. Add salt and pepper.
• Pick over and wash the lentils and add to the pot and cook for an extra 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Wash the herbs, drain the water and gently dry with a tea towel, chop finely and put aside.
• Chop and fry the onions in 1/4 cup of oil until golden. Put half aside for garnish. Add turmeric to the other half and stir-fry for a minute and add it to the soup pot.
• Add 9 cups of water to the pot. When it boils add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes.
• In a bowl, gradually add the flour to half a cup of water and blend well.
• Add this paste and the herbs to the pot and simmer for another 40 minutes.
• Mix the sour cream and buttermilk and add to the soup and stir. Cook for an extra 2 minutes.
• Empty the contents of the pot into a soup dish.
• Stir-fry the dried mint in 1/4 cup of oil for a minute and remove from heat.
• Garnish with fried mint, walnuts and the remaining fried onions.
• NOTE:.
• Dried herbs can be used if needed, 10g (3T) of dried herbs is approx equivelent of 100g fresh.
• Farah included buttermilk and sour cream for this recipe, but in Iran they use whey (Kashk) instead. They dissolve the kashk to make a thick liquid which they then add to the soup.