
Persian Noodle Soup (Ash-e Reshteh)
For Persian New Year, Norouz, this traditional soup is always served. Noodles are believed to bring good fortune, and it is customary to serve Ash-e Reshteh or any noodles before embarking on something new.
Recipe by Family Spice
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 cup parsley, chopped
- 3/4 cup green onions, chopped
- 2 1/2 cups spinach, chopped
- 5 cups of vegetable, beef or chicken stock
- 6 cups of water
- 1/2 cup dried lentils
- 1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained
- 1 15-oz can navy beans, drained
- 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained
- 4 oz flat egg noodles
- 1/2 cup of sour cream or 1/2 cup of kashk*
GARNISH:
- 1 TBS oil
- 1 onion, sliced thinly
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried mint flakes
- 1/4 cup of sour cream or 1/4 cup of kashke
- 1/4 tsp saffron, dissolved in 1 TBS hot water
- Heat a large stock pot on medium and add:
- When oil has heated, add:
- Season onions with:
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- When onions start to soften approximately 5-7 minutes, add:
- 1 cup parsley, chopped
- 3/4 cup green onions, chopped
- 2 1/2 cups spinach, chopped
- Cook vegetable for 5 more minutes then add:
- 5 cups of vegetable, beef or chicken stock
- 6 cups of water
- 1/2 cup dried lentils
- Bring to a boil, then cover pot and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Add in:
- 1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained
- 1 15-oz can navy beans, drained
- 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained
- If soup is too thick, add more water.
- Add to pot:
- Cover pot, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.
- Cook until noodles are done, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a small bowl mix together completely:
- 1/2 cup of sour cream or 1/2 cup of kashk*
- 1/4 cup of soup broth
- Pour the mixture back into the pot slowly.
- Reheat soup just before serving.
- To prepare the garnish, heat a small pan on medium high heat.
- Add to the hot pan:
- Next add in:
- Cook until onions start to brown and caramelize, reducing heat to medium to prevent burning. This can take about 15 minutes.
- Next add in:
- Cook for 2 minutes and remove pan from heat.
- Stir in:
- Garnish soup with:
- onion-mint garnish
- 1/4 cup of sour cream or 1/4 cup of kashk*
- 1/4 tsp saffron, dissolved in 1 TBS hot water


Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 min
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6
Serving Size: approx. 2 cups
Serving Suggestions: Instead of using sour cream or kashk*, in step 12, you can also use 1/4 cup wine vinegar. Just pour directly into the soup.
To reduce the amount of gas produced by canned beans, you can also soak the can beans for 1-2 hours prior to cooking. Complete your Norouz menu with: Herb Rice with Fish (Sabzi Pollo ba Mahi), Kookoo-ye Sabzi (herb quiche) and Persian Baklava.