Ash-Reshteh (Persian Noodle Soup)

This month has flown by!  I can’t believe it is going to be March in another week.  I love March for several reasons.  My husband and I went on our first date back in March, 2009.  We got married in Cleveland – March, 2013.  We have celebrate our anniversary with an annual “March Madness” trip to Vegas – in a few weeks will be our 9th time!  We only missed going the year our son was born (2016).  Plus, the first day of Spring is in March, which also is when the Persian New Year, also known as Nowruz.

People start getting ready for Nowruz about three weeks before the actual vernal equinox. Pretty much everyone goes into serious spring-cleaning mode, ridding their homes of any unnecessary clutter from the past year so they can start fresh.

Families also set aside a space for a “haft-seen,” or a collection of items that symbolize a different hope for the new year. While some families add their own variations to the haft-seen, there are seven things that are always included:

• Sabzeh: Some kind of sprout or grass that will continue to grow in the weeks leading up to the holiday, for rebirth and renewal
• Senjed: Dried fruit, ideally a sweet fruit from a lotus tree, for love
• Sib: Apples, for beauty and health
• Seer: Garlic, for medicine and taking care of oneself
• Samanu: A sweet pudding, for wealth and fertility
• Serkeh: Vinegar, for the patience and wisdom that comes with aging
• Sumac: A Persian spice made from crushed sour red berries, for the sunrise of a new day

While these seven S items are the foundation of a haft-seen (which literally means “seven S’s”), the tradition has evolved to the point where there are several other things you can include. For example, when I was growing up, my family’s haft-seens always included a mirror symbolizing reflection, colored eggs for fertility, coins for prosperity, and, a live goldfish for new life.

Once Nowruz arrives, it kicks off a 13-day celebration of dinners, family visits, and reflections on the year ahead. On the 13th day, you take the sabzeh that’s been growing in the haft-seen to whatever natural body of running water you can find and let it float away, to release the old and usher in the New Year.

I know what you are thinking, what about the food?!?  Food plays a central role in this.  Some dishes are only prepared once a year.

One of those dishes often is Ash Reshteh, which is a hearty soup made of beans, herbs, and noodles that is perfect not only for Nowruz, but also perfect on a chilly day!  You garnish the soup with caramelized onion and dried mint that has been fried until blackened and crispy, which takes it to another level.

This is a sponsored post for JSL Foods, but all opinions are 100% my own.

When I received Fortune Udon Noodle samples, I immediately knew I wanted to make this soup.  I happened to use 2 packs of the Chicken Flavor in this recipe, but you could easily swap with the Original or Mushroom flavors.  The Mushroom flavor is Vegan as well!  I love the packaging and you can see the noodles on the back of the packaging since it’s clear.   I also love how the noodles are only made with 4 ingredients.

If you have never tried Fortune Noodles before, if you go to the following link, you can Join the Noodle Club for a FREE COUPON!  Click here to sign up for your free coupon.

I surprised my dad at dinner when I invited him over and served this soup.  He was so excited and absolutely LOVED it.  He said it was his favorite.  Not only did he go for seconds, he took home a container to-go to enjoy as leftovers.

I even sent pictures to all my persian side of the family and got kudos!!

This is super easy to make and packed full of herbs with so much flavor.  It will not disappoint.  Very filling and you feel good after eating it.  And it was WeightWatcher friendly for me.  :)

Tip #1:  This soup keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

Tip #2:  You can freeze the soup in freezer safe containers. Thaw and reheat, adding water to adjust the consistency.

Tip #3:  If you prefer to use dried herbs, use about 1/4 of volume of fresh herbs.  You may soak the dried herbs in water for 20 minutes prior to using, discard water before adding herbs to the soup.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Ash-Reshteh (Persian Noodle Soup)

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour 15 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

 

Author: Sweet Dash of Sass

Recipe type: Soup

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 6TBSP Olive Oil
• 2 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 TBSP dried mint
• 1 tsp saffron
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) brown lentils, drained and rinsed
• 6 cups water or chicken stock
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• 1½ tsp salt, adjust as needed
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped,
• 1½ cups cilantro, chopped
• 1½ cups flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• ½ cup dill, chopped
• 2 (7 oz) packages Fortune Udon Noodles, Chicken Flavor
• 2 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 TBSP lemon juice

Instructions

1. In a large 5 or 6 qt cooking pot, heat oil and saute onions over medium heat until golden brown. It may take upwards to 25 minutes. Add grated garlic after 10 minutes of sauteing the onions.
2. Turn off heat and add saffron. Stir.
3. Set aside ⅓ of the onion/oil mixture in a bowl. Mix in dried mint into it while still hot and save for garnish.
4. Add water, 2 seasoning packets from Udon noodle package, salt and pepper to pot with the onions and bring to a boil.
5. Add all the canned beans - chickpeas, kidney beans, pinto beans, and brown lentils. Stir.
6. Next add all the herbs and greens - spinach, cilantrol, parsley, and dill. Stir and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add more water as needed to adjust consistency of the soup.
7. In a small bowl, combine a few TBSP of soup with cornstarch, stir to make sure no lumps and stir back into simmering soup.
8. Add 2 packs of Fortune Udon Noodles to soup.
9. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.
10. Add more cornstarch slurry if you need to make it a little thicker consistency. Add salt if necessary for taste. Add lemon juice.
11. You can stir in some of the sour cream and onion-mint mixture into the soup, save most of it for garnish.
12. Ladle Persian Noodle Soup into soup bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream and onion-mint oil mixture.

3.5.3251

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