Ash Reshteh

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 1/2 cup dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight
• 1/3 cup brown or green lentils
• 8 cups water or vegetable stock
• 4 tbsp oil, divided
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced (for garnish)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 250g fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 large bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 bunch dill, chopped
• 1 bunch scallions or chives, chopped
• 200g reshteh (Persian noodles) or linguine, broken into short lengths
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp dried mint
• 1/2 cup kashk (or substitute thick plain yogurt)
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Before you cook

• Soak the chickpeas and kidney beans separately in plenty of cold water overnight.
• Wash and finely chop the spinach, parsley, cilantro, dill, and scallions.
• Thinly slice the onion for garnish, separate from the onion you'll chop for the base.
• Peel and thinly slice the garlic for the fried garlic topping.

Steps

1. Drain the soaked chickpeas and kidney beans and put them in a large pot with the lentils and 8 cups of water or stock.
2. Bring the pot to a boil, skim off any foam, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes until the beans are just tender.
3. In a small pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat and sauté the chopped onion with the turmeric until soft and golden, about 8 minutes.
4. Stir the sautéed onion into the pot of beans.
5. Add the chopped spinach, parsley, cilantro, dill, and scallions to the pot.
6. Season with salt and pepper, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so the herbs don't stick.
7. Add the broken noodles to the pot and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender and the soup has thickened, then take the pot off the heat.
8. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small frying pan over medium heat and fry the sliced garlic until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes, then scoop it onto a paper towel.
9. In the same pan, fry the thinly sliced onion in the remaining oil until deep golden and crisp, about 10 minutes, then scoop it onto a paper towel.
10. Add the dried mint to the last of the hot oil in the pan and swirl for 10 seconds until fragrant, then remove from the heat.
11. Whisk the kashk with a splash of warm water until pourable.
12. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each one with a swirl of kashk, the fried garlic, fried onion, and fried mint.