Ash-e-Anar, pomegranate soup

I had never tasted a Persian dish until I was in my late teens and my mother read Marsha Mehran's Pomegranate Soup (Dutch: Café Babylon), a novel about three Iranian sister who move to a little town in Ireland where they open a café with Persian food. If you don't know it and you are into light reading and sensory writing, then I really recommand it. The writer added a list of recipes at the end of the book, they are the ones that are constantly mentioned in the story. One of them is Fesenjoon, the famous chicken-pomegranate stew with walnuts, and another Ash-e-Anar. I can't quite remember if we used Marsha's recipe the first time when we ate the pomegranate soup at home, but the the one of this post was found by my mother on the Internet. Somewhere. Anyway, as this was my first Persian kitchen experience, I feel kind of nostalgic when I make it. I have eaten so many other Persian meals after this one, but Ash-e-Anar might just turn out to be my favourite. It is such a pleasure to be leaning over the steaming pot, lost in the scent of cinnamon and basmati rice. With its warming spices and heavy split peas, this soup is ideal for cold days and should be eaten as a main course, cause it is very filling. If the list of ingredients looks quite impressive, don't be afraid, this recipe is very easy. Ingredients, serves 4-6 - extra vergine olive oil

- 1 garlic clove, crushed - 1 big onion, finely chopped - 120g basmati rice - 300 yellow split peas (you don't necessarily have to soak them overnight) - 1 tsp ground cinnamon - 1/2 tsp turmeric - 1/2 tsp chilli powder - black pepper and salt - 1 3/4L water - a bunch of flat parsley, chopped - 1 spring onion, chopped - 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses - 1 tbsp dried mint Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a soup pot and shortly fry the onion and crushed garlic. Add the split peas, spices (cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper and chilli) and sauté for a minute. Cover with water, put the lid on and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes until the split peas are soft. Add salt, molasses and rice. Stir gently and bring to a boil again. Cover, reduce the heat and wait 15 more minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley, dried mint en spring onion. If you notice the soup is getting too thick, than add some water. Let the soup simmer for a final 10 minuted, as the flavours will soak in. Serve with a simple salad.

Nush-e joon!