Happy Persian New Year!  A dear friend called to wish me happy Persian New Year and told me that the New Year (Norouz or Nowruz) begins on the first day of spring and is a two-week celebration of rebirth and renewal.  Quoting an Internet source, she sent me this:

Foods served during Norouz communicate spring themes. Sweet and sour flavors are meant to represent the duality of good and evil. Eggs represent fertility, and are served in dishes like the popular kuku (somewhat similar to an Italian frittata). Ash reshfte  a warm noodle soup, typically begins the new year meal. The symbolism of the noodles it is said represent wishes for the unraveling of life’s knotty problems. The main course for a typical Iranian New Year’s meal is sabzi polo hami, or green herbs and rice, served with a white fish sauteed with chopped onion, lemon juice, turmeric, salt and fresh garlic.

So, I pulled out my favorite Persian cookbook, New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies, by Najmieh Batnanglij, where I found a rather lengthy, intense but beautiful recipe for Ash-e reshte (Noodle Soup).  I’ll be making the soup this weekend and will happily share my results.   

Filed Under: Culinary History, Food Talk