Ash-e Jo - Barley Stew with Beans and Herbs

Barley is an ancient grain with an obscure origin. However, as old as barley is, it has never gotten to be a popular grain for cooking in our culture. In the land where wheat bread (taftoon, lavash, barbary and sangag) is the staple of Iranian food, barley has never had a chance to compete for first place. Barley may be nutritious, versatile, and economical to buy but the only recipes that I know of which use barley as a main ingredient are the barley soup(soup-e jo) and the barley stew (ash-e jo).

In the following Persian quatrains (do-bayti) by Baba Taher Oryan, the great Persian poet and Gnostic of the late 4th century, there's a reference to barley bread being the poor man's bread:

If I could ever get my hands on the universe

I'll ask, "What's with this?"  and "What's with that?"

You give one person a hundred folds of blessings,

To another only a loaf of barley bread soaked in blood.

آش جو  - Ash-e jo  is a thick soup made of barley, lentils, chickpeas, and beans (white beans or small red kidney beans). The vegetables that are usually used in this soup are parsley, leeks, and cilantro. I like to add  some dill and spinach as well. Some people might like to add some meat to the stew too but I think this soup tastes much better without any added meat. I use the following proportion to cook for my family of four and I usually have some left-overs that I freeze for later use. However, if you rather cook fresh on a daily basis or you are cooking for one or two people, then cut the amount of the ingredients in half.

Ash-e Jo - Barley Stew with Beans and Herbs

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

1 cup barley, soaked overnight  
1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
1/2 cup beans (white beans or red kidney beans) soaked overnight, I used white beans.
1/2 cup lentils
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped leeks
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped spinach, *optional
1/2 cup chopped dill *optional
Water
Salt and pepper taste

Toppings:

1/2 cup liquid whey (kashk)
1 large onion, peeled, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons dried mint
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Olive oil or vegetable oil

Method:

1. In a large stew pot, place barley, chickpeas, beans, lentils and add 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally. 
2. Add the chopped vegetables, salt, and pepper. Add more water if necessary. 
3. Cook for another 30 minutes on low heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
4. In the meantime, in a small pan heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium high heat, saute onions until golden brown. add turmeric and stir well. Add dried mint and remove from heat. Set aside.

To serve, pour soup in a serving bowl, drizzle some kashk and top with the fried onions and mint mixture. Serve with warm bread.

Enjoy!