Ash-e Jo

Ash-e jo is a nourishing Persian soup of pearl barley, chicken, pulses and herbs, finished with fried onion and mint.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 1h 40m
Total: 2 hours 5 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 100g pearl barley, rinsed
  • 400g bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
  • 2 onions, 1 chopped and 1 thinly sliced
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil, divided
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1.8 litres water
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 celery stick, diced
  • 50g red lentils
  • 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
  • 60g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 30g fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 30g fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp dried mint
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot and fry the chopped onion for 8 minutes. Add the turmeric, chicken, barley and water and bring to the boil.

  2. Skim, cover and simmer for 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken, shred the meat and discard the bones.

  3. Add the carrots, celery, lentils and chickpeas and simmer for 30 minutes until the barley is soft.

  4. Return the chicken to the soup with the herbs and 1 tsp salt and simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the thickness with hot water.

  5. Fry the sliced onion in 1 tbsp oil for 15 minutes until golden. Warm the last tbsp oil, remove from the heat and stir in the mint.

  6. Serve topped with fried onion and mint oil.