Persian New Year Noodle Soup

The title truly doesn't do justice to this recipe.  In fact a quick look at the list of ingredients should convince you of that.  This recipe hails from Heidi Swanson, a world traveller and food blogger that darling daughter #2 has raved about for years.  Her website, 101 Cookbooks, is a vegetarians dream come true and she claims that this recipe is her all time favorite soup - a good enough endorsement to convince me to give it a To describe it is difficult, so in Heidi's own words: "At it's core we're talking about a bean and noodle soup featuring thin egg noodles swimming in a fragrant broth spiced with turmeric, cumin, chiles, and black pepper."

Heat the oil in a large think bottomed pot, or a Dutch oven.  Add the onion and the chile and cook until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the spices and cook an additional thirty seconds, or until aromatic then stir in the stock.  Bring to a boil and add the lentils/split peas to the pot.  Cook until just tender, about 25 minutes.  Add the chickpeas and beans.  Once heated throughout, season with salt to taste.

In the meantime prepare the toppings:  Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat along with a couple of big pinches of salt,  Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and caramelized, 10 - 15 minutes (time depends on the amount and type of onion and the heat of the fire.)  Set aside.

Just before you're ready to eat, add the noodles to the simmering soup and cook until al dente.  Stir in the spinach, cilantro and dill.  Add a big squeeze or two of lime juice to the pot, and adjust seasonings to your liking.  Serve with the onions, sour cream and walnuts for each diner to add according to their preference

Notes:

1. Any chile similar in heat (such as Tabasco, or Cayenne chiles) will suffice.

2. The recipe calls for vegetable broth in keeping with the theme of the website, but chicken broth would be excellent as well - maybe better if you are an omnivore.

3. I'm not a big fan of cilantro and substituted flat Italian parsley.

4. Borlotti beans (called cranberry beans in America) may be hard to find so cannellini, kidney or pinto beans make a fine substitute.