Afghan Vegetable Soup…Sort of!

I just recently had a wonderful meal at Ariana, in Philadelphia’s Old Town.  It was a frigid cold night, as one can expect in February.  I didn’t have their “Aush” or “Mashawa”, which are typical Afghan soups, but I saw bowls or it going by and it smelled heavenly.  Turns out, it is.  Okay.  Just to be clear, this could be from anywhere in that region of the world, but because of this earlier culinary experience, we’re going with Afghan.  And one can make an argument, that this is really, more or less, an Aush.  But, probably less, rather than more.

I discovered something…at least new to me.  And I’m so very, very happy I did.  I was in my favorite Indian market the other day and ran across “green garlic” or spring garlic. As you can see, it resembles scallions, but with a bulb that looks like a clove of garlic, which as you might imagine, it is.  Apparently this is immature garlic, which is harvested before the clove divides and the whole bulb develops. Green garlic has a wonderful aroma of garlic (shocking, isn’t it?), but is quite perishable so should be used quickly.  It also has a tendency to “perfume” everything in your fridge!  This was the first time I purchased it, but it won’t be the last.  Next time, I’m chopping it up and putting in oil, leaves, bulb and all!

Anyway, I’ve been working more with the Instant Pot recently, and it does a wonderful job with beans.  I prefer to cook them from their dry state.  That’s right, no soaking. Pick through the dried beans, to make certain there are no stones.  Contrary to the book, Stone Soup, little stones are very unpalatable…but that’s a different story!  Anyway, rinse the beans, then toss them into your Instant Pot.  Drop in the bay leaves, the thyme sprigs and the allspice.  Cover the beans with water by about 2 inches.  Pop the cover on, lock it in place and turn the steam valve to “sealing”.  Set the pressure to HIGH and put 15 minutes on the clock.  Now, walk away.  Find something interesting or mindless to do..I peeled and sliced a massive carrot, sliced the celery, chopped the green garlic clove.  I chopped the green tops, too and set them aside, to add to the pot later.

When the 15 minutes are up, let the pressure come down by itself, for about 10 minutes, then release it.  The beans should be just tender, but not all mushed up.  Remove the thyme stems; discard.  I decided to drain the bean liquid into a saucepan, place it over medium heat, add the carrot, celery and garlic bulb only, along with the undrained tomatoes.  Simmer until the carrot pieces are just tender.  While this cooks, chop up the kale (I diced the ribs and added them to the saucepan with the carrot and friends)…I use lacinato or black kale…not the cattle fodder that is so frequently used these day, under the guise of, “but it’s healthy”!  Nonsense!!  Cattle fodder, I tell you…remember, I grew up on a farm…just sayin’.Anyway, place the lacinato kale, along with the green garlic tops, in the Instant Pot, with the beans.  Pour the carrot mixture back into the Instant Pot, along with the tomato paste.  Give it a good stir.  Lock the lid in place and turn the valve to seal it.  Set the pressure to HIGH and put 3 minutes on the clock…yup.  Only 3 minutes.  When the 3 minutes are up, leave the pot for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to “vent”.  Be careful of the steam.  Taste and add salt, if needed.  Serve really warm, but not boiling hot.  You can taste the flavors better.  Stir in the minced fresh mint and serve, sprinkled with crispy fired onion bits and a sprinkle of sumac, if you wish.  A nice dollop of yogurt, would also be a nice addition.

I’ve given you the ingredients I used. Usually aush has fresh dill added.  I didn’t have any, but the soup was so good, I’m not certain I would add it.  The mint is very subtle, almost not there.  If you want, add more.  There are a number of things you could add—corn kernels, peas, a diced hot chile, spinach or cabbage (instead of the kale), kidney beans (instead of the pinto), pasta or rice, etc.  As to spices, you could add some ground coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and cardamom.  You will note, and pay attention, because this may be the only time you ever in my lifetime see this…I did NOT use any onion.  I know.  It’s a shock.  I was shocked, but my goodness, the soup was so good, I didn’t miss it all.  But, feel free to add some, if your heart desires.

I used water, but I added a tablespoon of dry beef base, but you could use vegetable base, if you wish to keep this vegetarian.