CharlieD
Chef Extraordinaire
Was not sure if I should put this in soups, or here. Since it is ethnic dish, I'm adding to this forum. If administration decides otherwise please move to soups. In all the truth, I thought I have posted this recipe before, but I could not find.
Kcharcho, or Harcho is a most common Georgian soup that was found in restaurants back in Soviet days, and from what I understand it is still very popular. Here is the recipe.
Kcharco/Harco/Charcho-TNT
Beef – 2 pounds
Water – 4 quarts
Ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced – 1 pound
Onion, small to medium, chopped/diced – 2-3
Lemon, sliced and cut in halves – 1
Tomato paste – 2 table spoons
Cilantro, chopped – 1 small bunch
Parsley, chopped – 1 small bunch
Bay leaves – 3
Garlic, crushed – 4-5 cloves
Hot red pepper, like cane or similar
Salt
Oil for sautéing
Rice – 1 cup
Directions:
Wash and cut up meat. Cook in 4 quarts of water, simmering till completely cook. Make sure to peak the dirty foam forming on the top while cooking. After it stops foaming I like to add bay leaves. Separately sauté the chopped onions adding tomato paste.
When meat is done add sautéed onions, tomatoes, herbs and garlic. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Bring back to boil add rice. Cook for 20 minutes.
To serve put the slice of lemon on the side of the plate, so the people can squeeze the juice into soup. Alternatively, you can simply add lemon juice to soup during cooking.
Notes: I found out that cooking rice in the soup doesn’t work for me. I like to cook rice separately and just add to bowl/plate when serving. Also you can add some fresh herbs directly into plate in addition to what is already in the pot.
Being from Ukraine, soup has to be served with Sour Cream (imagine that
), but sour cream doesn’t really go well with this soup. Don’t know why. What I do instead, I mix some mayo with lemon juice and use a teaspoon of the mixture when serving. That kind saves the step of adding lemon/lemon juice.
Obviously the recipe is easily multiplied. It is easily reheated, but if you put rice in the soup it will be way overcooked.
P.S. In a good Georgian tradition, soup has to be spicy.
Kcharcho, or Harcho is a most common Georgian soup that was found in restaurants back in Soviet days, and from what I understand it is still very popular. Here is the recipe.
Kcharco/Harco/Charcho-TNT
Beef – 2 pounds
Water – 4 quarts
Ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced – 1 pound
Onion, small to medium, chopped/diced – 2-3
Lemon, sliced and cut in halves – 1
Tomato paste – 2 table spoons
Cilantro, chopped – 1 small bunch
Parsley, chopped – 1 small bunch
Bay leaves – 3
Garlic, crushed – 4-5 cloves
Hot red pepper, like cane or similar
Salt
Oil for sautéing
Rice – 1 cup
Directions:
Wash and cut up meat. Cook in 4 quarts of water, simmering till completely cook. Make sure to peak the dirty foam forming on the top while cooking. After it stops foaming I like to add bay leaves. Separately sauté the chopped onions adding tomato paste.
When meat is done add sautéed onions, tomatoes, herbs and garlic. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Bring back to boil add rice. Cook for 20 minutes.
To serve put the slice of lemon on the side of the plate, so the people can squeeze the juice into soup. Alternatively, you can simply add lemon juice to soup during cooking.
Notes: I found out that cooking rice in the soup doesn’t work for me. I like to cook rice separately and just add to bowl/plate when serving. Also you can add some fresh herbs directly into plate in addition to what is already in the pot.
Being from Ukraine, soup has to be served with Sour Cream (imagine that
), but sour cream doesn’t really go well with this soup. Don’t know why. What I do instead, I mix some mayo with lemon juice and use a teaspoon of the mixture when serving. That kind saves the step of adding lemon/lemon juice.Obviously the recipe is easily multiplied. It is easily reheated, but if you put rice in the soup it will be way overcooked.
P.S. In a good Georgian tradition, soup has to be spicy.
