Aash E Aaloo Persian Soup Recipes

AASH E AALOO (PERSIAN SOUP)

Steps:

• Soak prunes in warm water for two hours.
• Peel and slice two onions and fry in oil until slightly golden.
• Make ground meat into 2 cm balls and fry with onions until colour changes.
• Add 3-4 glasses of water, and bring to a boil.
• Finely chop herbs.
• Wash rice once with warm water.
• Add herbs, rice, prunes (including the water it was soaked in), salt and black pepper to meat balls.
• Mix well and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

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.

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.

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.