Yotam Ottolenghi's legume noodle soup recipe

I like to think of this heartwarming, thick soup as the Iranian answer to minestrone. In Iran, they call this wonderfully wholesome and ­nourishing dish ash-e reshteh, and it leaves a real smile on your face. I found reshteh noodles at an ­Iranian grocer, but linguine would do the job just as well. Serves eight.

125g dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight with 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

125g dried butterbeans, soaked in water overnight with 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

2 large onions, thinly sliced

10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

80g clarified butter

1½ tsp turmeric

Salt and black pepper

225g yellow split peas

Roughly 2 litres vegetable stock

35g chopped parsley

35g chopped coriander

15g chopped dill

100g spring onion, thinly sliced

150g baby spinach

100g reshteh (or linguine)

150g soured cream, plus 1 tsp per portion to finish

1½ tbsp white wine vinegar

4 limes, halved

Drain and rinse both the chickpeas and butterbeans, then boil them separately in lots of fresh water until almost cooked – anywhere ­between 25 and 55 minutes – and drain.

In a large, heavy-based pot, sauté the onion, garlic and butter on ­medium heat for 20 minutes, or ­until soft and golden-brown. Stir in the turmeric and some salt and ­pepper, then lift a third of this mix from the pot and transfer to a dish for use later.

Add the chickpeas and butterbeans to the pot, then add the split peas and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes, skimming off the froth occasionally, or until the peas are tender. Add the herbs, spring onion and ­spinach, stir and cook for 15 minutes more; add extra stock (or water) if the soup is very thick. Taste and season generously.

Add the noodles and cook for about 10 minutes, so that they are just done. Stir in the soured cream and vinegar, adjust the seasoning and serve at once, garnished with extra soured cream and the reserved cooked onion mix. Serve lime halves to squeeze over every portion