A thick, hearty Persian noodle soup loaded with herbs, legumes, and reshteh noodles, garnished with kashk, fried mint, and caramelized onions, the essential Nowruz celebration dish.
Ingredients
200g reshteh noodles (Persian flat noodles)
1 cup chickpeas, soaked
1 cup lentils
1/2 cup kidney beans, soaked
1 large bunch parsley, chopped
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch dill, chopped
1 bunch spinach, chopped
3 onions, diced
1/2 cup kashk (whey)
3 tbsp dried mint
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1Cook the soaked chickpeas and kidney beans in a large pot of water for about 45 minutes until almost tender, then add the lentils and continue cooking for 20 more minutes.
2Add all the chopped fresh herbs and spinach to the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes until the greens are wilted and the soup is thick and rich.
3Add the reshteh noodles to the soup and cook for 10 minutes until tender, stirring gently to prevent them from sticking together.
4In a small pan, fry diced onions until caramelized and crispy, and in another pan, fry dried mint in oil until fragrant, then serve the soup topped with kashk, fried onions, and mint oil.
Did You Know?
Ash Reshteh is the most symbolic Nowruz food, with the noodles representing the threads of life and the act of making it believed to help untangle life's problems in the new year.