Herby Beans and Greens Soup aka Ash Reshteh

Amarante

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 1:09 pm

This was delightful. I made it dairy but it could easily be made pareve using non-dairy yogurt. Mint is such a delightful herb

Couldn't find either reshteh or kaske but maybe these would be obtainable if I had gone to one of the Persian markets on Pico?

Herby Beans and Greens Soup aka Ash Reshteh

This recipe is inspired by traditional Iranian ash reshteh, a cross between a soup and a stew that’s fragrant with herbs and hearty with beans and pasta. Using a food processor or mandoline to slice the onions, and the same processor to chop the herbs, cuts down on prep time. Rather than caramelizing the onions, which can take awhile, you fry them on high heat until they’re browned and crisp. Canned beans cut down on the cooking time — though you can certainly use homemade cooked beans.

Garnish each bowl with the crispy fried onions and garlic, plus yogurt or kashk, a sort of fermented whey.

Kashk can be found at Middle Eastern markets, or make your own (see related recipe).

The soup, without the noodles, can be made up to 3 days ahead.

Ingredients

Servings: 4-6

1/4 cups ghee or olive oil, plus more as needed
1 medium (6 to 8 ounces) yellow onion, halved and very thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoons fine salt, plus more to taste
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried mint
4 ounces (4 cups) baby spinach, chopped
1 bunch fresh dill (about 1 ounce), tender stems and sprigs, chopped
1 small bunch fresh cilantro (about 1 ounce), tender stems, sprigs and leaves, chopped
1 fresh parsley (about 1 ounce), tender stems, sprigs and leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, preferably no-salt, in its canning liquid
1 (15-ounce) can lentils, preferably no-salt, in its canning liquid
6 cups vegetable or beef broth
3 ounces dried linguine or Iranian reshteh (persian wheat noodles) noodles
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cups plain yogurt or liquid kashk

Directions

In a large pot over high heat, heat the ghee or oil until it shimmers. Add the onion, season it with salt and fry, stirring occasionally and adding more fat if needed, until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and, using a slotted spoon, transfer the onion to a bowl. Add the garlic to the fat and fry until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to the bowl with the onion.

Add the mint to the remaining fat in the pot and fry until it darkens, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high and stir in the spinach, dill, cilantro and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens turn bright and become very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, letting it warm up in the oil at the bottom of the pot for about 1 minute. Stir in the chickpeas and their liquid, and lentils and their liquid. Add the broth, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to achieve a steady simmer and cook for 10 minutes — and up to 30 minutes — to let the flavors of the herbs and beans meld. The broth should turn green and thicken slightly. (The soup may be made up to 3 days ahead up to this point. Bring it back to a boil before you proceed.)

Add the linguine or reshteh to the pot, and season the broth with additional salt, until it tastes slightly salty. Let the noodles cook in the broth, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the lemon juice and black pepper, then taste. Adjust the seasonings as desired.

Serve in bowls topped with the fried onions, garlic and yogurt or kashk.