Name: Persian Egg and Onion Soup (Eshkeneh)
Yield: This should be enough to serve 6 hungry peasants.
Cuisine: Iran
Ingredients: 500 g pitted sour cherries (or soaked prunes/apricots) (personally, I usually go with the spinach); 1–2 dessertspoons ghee (or butter); 2 dessertspoonsful dried mint; 1 egg per person; salt and pepper; 200 g fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped, or; 1 litre water; 2–3 slices stale bread; 2 dessertspoons flour; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 6 medium onions; 75 g broken walnuts, or; 1 onion, finely chopped; juice of 1 lemon; 2–3 eggs

Preparation info

This should be enough to serve
6
hungry peasants.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Persia in Peckham

By Sally Butcher

Published 2007

About

This is very similar to French onion soup – but whereas the French version has a respectable culinary pedigree, this is a staple of peasants in Iran. Many Persians, being inveterate snobs, deny ever having sampled it. This is a shame, as it is quite delectable and very easy to prepare. With the right garnish, it polishes up a treat.

Ingredients

6 medium onions
1–2 dessertspoons ghee (or butter)
1 teaspoon

Method

Slice the onions very finely and then fry them in hot melted ghee or butter. Once they are quite soft and starting to colour, add the turmeric, and the walnuts (the first on the list of optional extras). Cook for a few moments more, then stir in the flour. Add the water, stirring constantly, and continue to heat so that the soup starts to thicken. If you have opted for the fruit or the spinach