This bean and noodle soup flavored with turmeric and filled with spinach can be eaten as is or topped with yogurt. It is hearty and filling, nutritious and budget friendly.
Persian Bean and Noodle Soup
Servings
12 Servings
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons dried red kidney beans
- 4 tablespoons dried navy beans
- 4 tablespoons dried chickpeas
- 1/2 lb 500 g brown rice spaghetti pasta (available in natural food stores)
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 4 onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 12 cups 2.75 liters water
- 1/2 cup 100 g lentils, rinsed and picked through for stones and debris
- 1 tablespoon rice flour
- 2 cups 120 g chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup 50 g coarsely chopped fresh parsley
- 3/4 cup 75 g trimmed and sliced green onions (scallions)
- 1/2 cup 25 g finely chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 large onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
- 1 cup 245 g plain yogurt
Instructions
- Soak the kidney beans, navy beans, and chickpeas in separate containers, instructions below. When the beans are soaked, drain and skin the chickpeas.
- Cook the rice pasta according to package directions, and then set aside.
- When you are ready to cook, heat the oil in a large stockpot set over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until translucent. Add the salt, pepper, and turmeric.
- Stir in the kidney beans, navy beans, and chickpeas and sauté for a minute. Pour in the water and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the lentils and cook for 20 minutes longer.
- Then, add the rice flour and stir occasionally for 10 minutes.
- Add the spinach, parsley, green onions, and dill and continue to cook, stirring from time to time for 30 minutes. Add the cooked rice pasta. If the soup is too thick, add ½ cup (125 ml) water at a time and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and keep warm.
- To make the topping, heat the oil in a skillet set over medium-high heat and sauté the onions, stirring, for about 15 minutes, or until they are browned. Add in the mint and stir until fragrant. Pour the soup into a large serving bowls and scatter the fried onion over the tops. Drizzle with yogurt and serve.
- Instructions for Soaking Beans
- Pick through the dried beans, discarding any discolored or shriveled ones or any foreign matter. Wash the beans in a strainer under cold running water, and drain.
- To soak, place the beans in a bowl of fresh cold water. A good rule of thumb is to add three cups (750 ml) of water to each cup of dried beans. The liquid should be about 1 to 2 in (2.5 to 5 cm) above the top of the legumes, and the bowl should be big enough so that the beans can expand a bit. Soak for 12 hours or overnight.
Ok I am back. It was delicious but I only did do half the recipe. It was made erev shabbas and there was no time for garnish or anything. Thursday night i threw 2 bags of beans and 2 cans of washed chick peas into a bowl and covered them with water and left it. I cooked some small shell quinoa pasta the next day. Then I sauteed the onions and some fresh ginger. Then in went the beans after i washed them. Then in went a box of imagine pareve chicken soup. Then in went a chicken. Then the salt, pepper, and tumeric. Then it needed something so I added a tbsp of the herbes de Provence I had just bought from benz’s. Then the whole thing ended up getting plopped into the crockpot. It was yum but I had forgotten the veggies. The pasta gave it the consistency of cholent by shabbas afternoon. I tried making the chocolate bark too but as i couldn’t taste it due to my diabetes I think I just messed up!!!
loved the soup. however i made a few changes. i used canned beans instead of dried so i was able to cut the cooking time a bit. also i didnt have rice flour so i used instead potatoe starch. but i loved the taste & consistancy of it
I am the author of the cookbook “Silk Road Vegetarian” of which this recipe is in the book. It’s a gluten free book, which is why this soup is made using GF ingredients. You can just as easily use spaghetti and AP flour.
Thanks. I look forward to trying it.
Why does this recipe call for rice noodles and flour? Can wheat be substituted?
This is an amazing soup, all kids and adults loved it and I forgot to put fried onions with mint on the top 🙂 so next time it will be even better. Easy to make and delicious.