My "Che-tory" Soup

No, che-tory is not a fancy wild green you've never heard of. It's an attempt to phonetically spell the Persian word for "health."

You see, later this week I need to wear a strapless bridesmaid dress. So, it's time to get out the arm weights, stop eating steak and cake (see last two posts), and whip up some of this sinless soup, bright with flavors of fresh herbs and lime juice. The recipe has evolved under the influence of my mother-in-law as well as the Persian cooking authority Najmieh Batmanglij, author of Persian Cooking for a Healthy Kitchen (Mage Publishers, 1994) among other titles.

Persians use copious amounts of parsley, dill, mint and other herbs in their cooking, treating them more like vegetables than garnishes. For example, the popular dish Kohresh-e qormeh sabzi is a green casserole of lamb and kidney beans covered with fresh parsley, cilantro and chives along with olive oil, onion, garlic, saffron, turmeric, dried limes and lime juice. The first time I ate it, I thought it must also contain a leafy green such as spinach or chard because I wasn't accustomed to cooking with herbs in such large quantities. But why not? The key is to grow your own, which most Persian I know do, rather than buying those little 1-ounce plastic containers in the produce department that cost upwards of $3.

Nearly every Persian dinner I've ever eaten starts with Nan-o panir-o sabzi-khordan -- that's bread (usually pita or lavash) and feta cheese with radishes, herbs (usually basil, parsley, dill and mint) and nuts (usually walnuts that have been soaked in water to take away the bitterness).

The soup -- or ahsh, as Persians would call it -- is influenced by both of these examples, and Dara and I love to eat it warm, drizzled with plain yogurt and olive oil. If you want to show off, you can serve it and say, Noosh-e jan! That's the Persian version of bon appetit.

MY "CHE-TORY" SOUP

Serves 6 as a starter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 white onion, diced

1 bunch scallions, chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt + more to taste

1 cup green lentils, rinsed and picked over

4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth + more as needed

6 ounces fresh parsley

4 ounces fresh cilantro

4 ounces fresh dill

3 ounces fresh mint leaves

Juice of 4-6 medium-sized limes

1 cup cooked cracked wheat, barley or quinoa (optional)

Plain yogurt and extra-virgin olive oil to garnish

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and cover; let sweat on low heat until the onion is translucent. Add scallions, garlic and salt and increase heat to medium; saute until garlic is fragrant and white onion begins to caramelize. Add lentils and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover; cook about 30 minutes, until lentils are tender. Meanwhile, cut off big stems from parsley, cilantro and dill.

Combine lentil mixture, fresh herbs and juice of 4 limes to a food processor, and blend until fairly smooth, as shown in the photo above. Taste and add more lime juice and salt as needed; it should really have some zing. Stir in cooked cracked wheat, barley or quinoa if desired to make the soup more substantial, or simply drizzle it with plain yogurt and olive oil and serve it with warm whole-wheat bread.