Kharcho - Georgian Beef Soup
Kharcho is a beef soup from Georgia. It’s also great when made with chicken, veal, or lamb.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs stew beef cubes
- 1 lb beef bones
- 12 cup water
- 1 handful parsley stems
- 12 black peppercorns
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ cup dried apricots
- 2 large onions
- 4 Tbsp clarified butter
- ¼ cup rice
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 medium leek, sliced
- 1 Tbsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 tsp coriander seed
- ½ tsp caraway
- 1 tsp thyme
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ cup walnuts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lemon
- 2 cups herbs (dill/parsley/cilantro)
Method
-
1
Wash the meat and bones well in warm water. Place in a large pot with the water and parsley stems. Bring to a boil, skim, add pepper and bay leaf, then reduce heat. Cook on medium-high until the meat is tender, around 1½ hours. Strain the stock and set meat aside.
-
2
Meanwhile, dice apricots, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside.
-
3
Place onions and clarified butter in a pot and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add rice, tomato paste and leek. Sauté for another 2 minutes and add beef stock. Simmer for 30 minutes.
-
4
Grind spices in a mortar, add garlic and 1 tsp salt, then grind to a purée. Add drained apricots and nuts, then pound into a chunky purée.
-
5
Pour the purée into the soup. Cook for another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
-
6
Add lemon juice and herbs.
A variation of the Harira from The Spice Trekkers Cook at Home
