Name: Persian-Style Lentil and Herb Ash Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Persian
Ingredients: 200 g whole red lentils; a large bunch of each spinach, parsley and coriander, chopped; 1 onion, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, sliced; 4 tablespoons cold-pressed sesame oil; 2 tablespoons dried mint; half a teaspoon turmeric; 1.5 litres water or stock; to taste salt and black pepper

Before you cook

The herb quantity looks excessive until you see the finished pot. Persian ash soups are built on herbs, not merely garnished with them.

The fried mint and garlic oil is poured on at the table, in front of whoever is eating, because its aroma fades within minutes of frying.

Method

Warm two tablespoons of the oil and cook the onion until soft.
Stir in half the garlic and the turmeric, cooking one minute more.
Rinse the lentils and add them with the water, then bring to the boil.
Simmer covered for twenty-five minutes until the lentils are tender.
Add the chopped herbs in stages, stirring each batch down before the next.
Simmer a further fifteen minutes until the herbs have fully wilted in.
Season with salt and pepper, tasting as the herbs continue to soften.
Warm the remaining oil in a small pan just before serving.
Fry the remaining garlic and the dried mint until fragrant and just golden.
Ladle the soup into bowls and pour the hot mint oil over each one.

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