Persian Noodle Soup

Herbs, pulses, noodles, spinach and soured cream combine in this Iranian comfort food dish, topped with deeply caramelised onions.

Persian Noodle Soup

Recipe by SherwinCourse: AppetizersCuisine: PersianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 
Calorieskcal

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil

  • 4 onions, 2 roughly chopped, 2 thinly sliced

  • 2 tsp ground turmeric

  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 400g tin chickpeas, drained

  • 100g/3½oz small brown lentils

  • 400g haricot beans, drained

  • 1 litre/1¾ pint vegetable stock

  • 40g/1½oz butter

  • 100g/3½oz linguine or Iranian reshtey noodles

  • 200g/7oz spinach

  • 30g/1oz fresh parsley

  • 20g/¾oz fresh coriander

  • 15g/½oz fresh mint

  • 2 x 250ml/9fl oz tubs soured cream

Directions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, and fry the onions for 5 minutes, or until soft and pale golden in colour. Add the turmeric and garlic and cook for a further 4 minutes.
  • Add the chickpeas, lentils and haricot beans to the onions and pour in the stock. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan over a low heat. Fry the sliced onions for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are deeply caramelised.
  • When the beans have simmered for 30 minutes, add the noodles to the pot and cook for a further 10 minutes.
  • Wilt the spinach in a pan with a little water for 2 minutes, drain and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. Roughly chop the spinach on a board, along with the parsley, coriander and mint.
  • Stir the spinach and herbs into the noodles and beans. Fold in the soured cream and serve with the caramelised onions on top.