Pistachio, Saffron + Sour Orange Soup

Name: Pistachio, Saffron + Sour Orange Soup (Sup-e Pesteh-ye Kermani ba Za’ferun-o Narenj)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves: 4
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons oil or ghee; ½ cup/120 ml sour orange juice/narenj or ¼ cup/60 ml fresh orange juice mixed with ¼ cup/60 ml fresh lime juice; 8 cups/1.9 l chicken stock or water; 1 cup/120 g raw pistachio kernels; 1 teaspoon cayenne; 1 tablespoon rice flour; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; ½ in/1 cm fresh ginger, grated or ¼ teaspoon dried; 2 tablespoons ground cumin seeds; ½ teaspoon turmeric; 1 tablespoon fine sea salt; ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped; ½ teaspoon ground saffron threads dissolved in 2 tablespoons water; 1 leek (white and green parts), thoroughly washed and finely chopped; 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped; ¼ cup/35 g pomegranate arils; 2 tablespoons chopped raw pistachio kernels and/or organic edible flower petals

Sup-e Pesteh-ye Kermani ba Za’ferun-o Narenj

Preparation info

Serves:
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr 25

Appears in

Cooking in Iran

By Najmieh Batmanglij

Published 2020

About

I adapted this recipe from a traditional pistachio soup made by the Amin family in Rafsanjan. The cover photo for this book shows the soup.

Ingredients

soup

1 cup/120 g raw pistachio kernels
2 tablespoons oil or

Asia
Iran
Rafsanjan
Soup
Gluten-free

Method

For the soup: Pick over the shelled pistachios to be sure there are no broken shells or other particles in them, then grind in a food processor or spice spice grinder until very smooth. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a medium-sized enamled cast-iron pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, turmeric, cu