Ash e Jo is a hearty, herbaceous, thick barley soup that my mom would serve in a huge pot for weekend brunches. This soup is one of my all-time favorite Persian soups – it’s naturally vegan and it’s perfect for a big family meal on a cold day.
For me, this soup is all about comfort because it’s filling and packed with plenty of herbaceous goodness. I struggled to nail down the recipe and the flavors at first because my mom would make it so many different ways—sometimes without greens at all, sometimes with reshteh noodles! Because of this, I have a section of this blog post with variations below.
At brunch parties, we’d serve this and/or Adasi, Kaleh Pacheh, plenty of bread and Sabzi Khordan. If you’re making this soup for a crowd, it’s incredibly easy to double the recipe by doubling the greens, barley, lentils, and rice, and a little less than double the water and spices.
🌟 You’ll Love the Amazing Flavors in this Soup
The beans are a BIG part of this dish and help to make it so hearty. I like to use small white beans, but you could use whatever small beans you have on hand. If you’re using dried beans, it’s essential to soak them overnight. This helps them cook faster—you do not want them al dente or crumbly. If you don’t have time for soaking or can’t find dried beans, canned beans are also fine. Just keep in mind that canned beans tend to get a little smashed so they don’t hold their shape as well as dried. We also add basmati rice to thicken the soup, similar to the way bread is used to thicken Italian soups.
The cooked herbs have an earthy, deep flavor—similar to Ghormeh Sabzi. I also use cumin (optional addition because not everyone does) and turmeric for a lifting, warming spiciness. For Ash e Jo you don’t have to mince the herbs as fine as you would for a stew like Ghormeh Sabzi. With cilantro, you can leave the stems and just do a rough chop—nothing too precise. For parsley, I remove the bigger stems and mostly use the leaves, which I also roughly chop. When my aunt makes it, she does a super-fine chop, so her soup usually ends up looking more like a green soup. Both work well, but I personally love the larger greens that come from a less-fine chop.
🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
👩🍳How to Make This Recipe
🫘 Quick Tip 🫘
You can use canned beans instead of dried, which means you can skip the soaking and simmering steps at the beginning. That said, canned beans tend to be a bit smashed and don’t hold their shape as well as dried.
Optional: Serve with caramelized onions, mint oil, kashk, or greek yogurt.
🍽️ Variations for this Recipe
Sometimes my family adds extras like reshteh noodles like the ones we use in Ash Reshteh for a little bulk or even some yellow split peas, like the ones we use in Khoresh Gheymeh. Keep in mind that these tweaks can change the texture a bit—especially the noodles since they absorb water and you have to add extra to compensate. I like to cook the noodles separately and add them in just before serving.
For garnishes, you can keep it simple or go all out. I like to add caramelized onions on top (sometimes I’ll fry up extra just for this), or you can stir in a little kashk, some greek yogurt, or drizzle some mint oil. Mint oil is a common finishing touch in Persian soups and adds a nice layer of flavor. I include how to make this in the recipe card notes below.
⭐️ Tip for the Best Results
You need to keep an eye on the water level as the soup simmers. The ingredients absorb a lot of water as they cook, so check regularly and top it off as needed. The goal is to have a thick, hearty soup—not something overly soupy. But I have also enjoyed it on the soupier side, so if that is your preference, go for it!
Ash e Jo (Persian Barley Soup)
Print Recipe SaveIngredients
- 1/2 cup small white beans 125 grams, dried, or 1 15-oz. can
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 leek
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin optional
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 lb. spinach
- 3/4 cup pearl barley 125 grams
- 3/4 cup lentils 125 grams
- 1/4 cup basmati rice 50 grams
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups vegetable stock or 2 more cups of water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp Oil
Instructions
- Soak the white beans overnight.
- Simmer the beans and lentils for 1 hour in 8-10 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.
- While the beans and lentils are simmering, fry the onion. Use 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, seasoned with salt to help draw out the liquid. Cook for 20-30 minutes until they turn a light golden brown. Then, add the leek. Cook until soft.
- Season with salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin (optional) and mix to combine.
- Add the washed rice and barley, stock/water, simmered beans, and two cups of the water the beans were cooked in (this helps thicken the soup). Simmer this covered for half an hour. Check regularly to make sure there is enough water and add more if needed.
- In the meantime, prepare the fresh herbs.
- Add in the herbs, then simmer the whole thing covered for another hour. Check regularly to make sure there is enough water and add more if needed.
- Check the beans by tasting them to see if they have the right texture. If not cooked, through, simmer the mixture for longer, and check the beans every so often and adding more water if necessary.