Ash-e Jo, Persian Barley and Herb Soup
Ash is the broad family of thick Persian soups, and ash-e jo is the barley one: grain and legumes cooked soft under so many chopped herbs that the pot turns green. It is a forgiving, one-pot meal that only gets better the next day and freezes well, which makes it worth cooking a big batch. The seasoning is Persian to the core and needs no salt: turmeric bloomed at the start, a finish of dry-toasted mint, a squeeze of lime, and a swirl of plant yogurt for the sour, creamy note. Use hulled barley rather than pearl so the grain keeps its chew, and treat the herbs as a main ingredient, not a sprinkle.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Hulled barley
- 1 cup Chickpeas, cooked
- 1/2 cup Brown lentils
- 1 whole Yellow onions, finely chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup Dill, chopped
- 1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
- 4 cups Spinach, chopped
- 3 wholes Scallions, sliced
- 2 tbsp Lime juice
- 1/2 cup Plain plant yogurt
- 1 tsp Dried mint
Method
- Sweat the onion in a dry pot with a few tablespoons of water until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes, then stir in the garlic and turmeric and cook 1 minute more. Blooming the turmeric in the hot pan for a moment wakes up its earthiness and colors the whole soup gold, which a spoonful stirred in cold never does.
- Add the barley, lentils, and about 8 cups (1.9 liters) of water and bring to a simmer. Cook, partly covered, until the barley is plump and chewy and the lentils have softened, 45 to 50 minutes. Hulled barley keeps a real bite and its own nutty flavor where pearl barley would turn to paste.
- Stir in the cooked chickpeas, then the parsley, dill, cilantro, spinach, and scallions. Simmer 10 minutes more. The herbs are not a garnish in a Persian ash, they are half the soup, and cooking them briefly melds them into the broth while keeping their green, grassy lift.
- Toast the dried mint in a dry pan for 30 seconds until fragrant, then crush it over the pot. A Persian cook usually blooms mint in hot oil for this finish, and dry-toasting gets the same fragrant, slightly darkened mint without it.
- Off the heat, stir in the lime juice. Ladle into bowls and swirl a spoonful of plant yogurt into each. The lime and the tang of the yogurt do the work salt would, so taste before reaching for anything else.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 240 calories, 11 g protein, 9 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
