ASH-E RESHTEH
ASH-E RESHTEH
#SIAintheKitchen
***Last updated: October 23, 2020
Kind of annoyed because my MacBook froze and now I have to write this post all over again, WAH. Alas, let’s try again.
Ash-e reshteh, Persian herb and legume stew with noodles (reshteh) topped with caramelized onions, mint oil and kashk (fermented dried yogurt). First of all, I had no idea that there were noodles in Persian cuisine. Two, this dish is freakin’ delicious and is completely vegan (minus the kashk). And three, I cannot believe I made this. Yay!
Ash-e reshteh is a super easy Persian meal to make. It’s commonly eaten as an appetizer but it is really thick and very filling due the beans and legumes. It does take a little bit of time. I mean, I’m sure can just dump in all the ingredients together and used canned beans and whatnot but if I know anything about Persian cuisine, it’s that it always takes some time to make. And good things come to those who wait!
Some tips before you get started:
Use dried beans. Every blog I had read 100% recommend dried beans over canned beans. You really want to let the flavours soak into the bean from the start. Highly recommend.
Can’t find reshteh noodles? Use linguine or Japanese somen or Korean somyeon. Everyone will say use linguine noodles but I actually think somen/somyeon is a much better substitute as it cooks the same way and releases a lot of starch. This helps thicken the soup immensely (in addition to the flour).
Kashk can be substituted with plain yogurt or sour cream. It’s not the same as kashk though. Kashk is a fermented dried yogurt that is more sour than yogurt or sour cream and is so, so good. It richens the dish pretty significantly.
Some hard-to-find ingredients (dried mint, kashk, and reshteh noodles) may be found at a Persian or Middle Eastern store.
Please don’t be intimidated by this recipe. It actually is really simple!
ASH-E RESHTEH - serves 4
Soup
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1/3 cup dried fancy green lentils/French Puy lentils, soaked overnight
1/3 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1/2 cup dried red kidney beans
1/3 cup dried great northern beans
1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly (whites separated from the green parts)
1 bunch dill, roughly chopped
1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped
2 tbsp ground turmeric
2 quarts homemade vegetable stock
3 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour
100g Reshteh noodles, broken in half
1 tbsp kosher salt
freshly-ground black pepper, as needed
Caramelized onions
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large white onions, thinly sliced
Mint oil
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp dried mint
Garnish
kashk, as needed
In a large Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil until the oil is glistening over medium-high heat. Add in the diced onions and white parts of the scallions and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Drain the chickpeas and lentil and add to the pain along with the turmeric. Stir to ensure all the beans are coated with oil and turmeric and toasted for 3 minutes. Pour in 1 quart of vegetable stock, bring to a boil, and reduce to low to simmer and cook the beans - 1 hour. Cover while simmering.
While the soup is simmering, prepare the garnishes. Heat the 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the oil is glistening. Add in the onions and stir until translucent and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Decrease the heat to low and stir occasionally, allowing for the onions to caramelize. This should take 1 hour. Onions will be a nice brown and should decrease in volume by half.
In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 3 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat and add the dried mint. Swirl in the pan to prevent from burning. The mint should darken sightly - this should take 1 minute.
Ladle out some liquid and mix with the flour in a small, separate bowl. Stir and ensure that there are no lumps. Set aside. Add in all of the herbs except for the spinach and stir. Add in 1/2 quart of vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Add in the spinach and the remaining 1/2 quart of vegetable stock and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Turn up the heat to medium-high and swirl in the flour-broth mixture. Add in the broken Reshteh and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir to ensure that none of the noodle sticks. Allow for the ash-e reshteh to sit for at least 2 hours to allow for the flavours to meld together.
When ready to serve, reheat (stirring often to ensure no burning or sticking) and top with dollops of kashk, caramelized onions and a drizzle of mint oil.