Herb Bean Soup

And this delightful herb whose tender green

Fledges the river's lip on which we lean

Ah, lean upon it lightly, for who knows

From what once lovely lip it springs unseen!

                                                                        -Omar Khayyam

Ash meaning (soup) has many varieties in flavor and texture in Persian cuisine, most of which I shall be sharing on my blog. During the month of Ramadan a popular ash is Ash-e-Shologhalam Kar (Herb Bean Soup). 

Hearty, Mighty and Rich. Filthy rich.

Recipe:

Half neck of lamb

1 big onion

1 cup mung beans

1/2 cup rice

1 cup white beans

1/2 cup chick peas

1 kilo fresh chives and parsley

2-3 stalks fresh tarragon or 1 tablespoon of dried tarragon

3 tablespoons caramelized onions

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Salt

Pepper 

Method:

Fill a pot with water and cook the neck of lamb with a whole onion for 4 hours. Once cooked, remove bones and knead with the palm of your hand, adding a ladle of stock to moisten the meat. Set aside. Meanwhile separately cook the mung beans and rice together and white beans and chick peas together. Add the beans setting aside half of the white bean and chick peas to the meat mixture and season with turmeric, cinnamon, salt, pepper and caramelized onions and begin to mash with a meat masher. Wash, dry and roughly chop the chives, parsley and tarragon add to the meat and bean mixture and continue to mash. Serve in big bowl and garnish with the remainder of the beans and caramelized onions.