Persian noodle soup
Prep 20 mins
Cook 35 mins
4
Difficulty 2
"This is my take on Persian noodle soup, expertly guided by my dear friend, Mersedeh," says Anna Jones, author of the book, One Pot, Pan, Planet. It’s a deeply savoury soup with spice, chickpeas, lentils and some pasta thrown in for good measure. This is a great way to use up the ends of bags of pasta you have hanging around. I have suggested a noodle pasta but really any pasta bashed up a bit will do."
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric, or to taste
1 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 green chilli, finely chopped
400g canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
400g drained and rinsed canned green or Puy lentils, drained and rinsed
A small bunch each of parsley, coriander and dill, coarsely chopped
The juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
1.25 litres vegetable stock
200g spinach, washed, chopped
80g Iinguine or spaghetti, broken into 3cm sticks
TOPPING
50g toasted pine nuts
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
A handful of herbs (such as before and with mint)
1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes until they’re very soft, golden and fragrant. Add the spices, garlic and chilli, and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant but not browning.
2. Add the cannellini beans and lentils, along with a litre of the stock and a good pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, then cook for 15 minutes until everything has come together.
3. If you are not eating all of the soup now, put those portions aside before adding the spinach, pasta and herbs. Add remaining stock to the pot with the spinach and pasta. Simmer until the linguine is tender but slightly al dente. This should take about 8-10 minutes.
4. For the topping, mix the pine nuts and chopped chilli with the lemon zest and olive oil in a small bowl.
5. Add the herbs to the soup and leave to simmer for a minute before tasting and adjusting the seasonings. Stir in the lemon juice. Spoon into bowls and top with the pine nuts, chilli mixture and more herbs, if you like.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Extracted with permission from the book, One Pot, Pan, Planet: A Greener Way to Cook for You, Your Family and the Planet, by Anna Jones. Published by Harper Collins.
