Kharcho

Roll up, roll up for my second favourite Georgian dish. It's an amazing and filling meaty soup. There is a chill in the air, the internet is full of pumpkin spice lovers and people who make fun of them, so I think we can say it’s coming into autumn. And this soup is a perfect autumnal soup.

I have mentioned my love of Georgian food earlier, and this is another gem from the Georgian cookbooks. It’s a strong, herby, beefy soup with rice. Mine turned out a little bit more like a stew than a soup but it’s still delicious. Could be fixed with less rice or more water, but I liked it just the way it was.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g stewing beef
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium red onions
• 1 stick celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 500ml beef stock
• 500ml waster
• 300ml pasatta
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1/3 cup white rice
• 2 tbsp lemon juice or 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• Fresh bread, to serve (optional but not really)

Method

Season the meat.

Put 1 tbsp oil in a pan and throw in the beef when heated. Brown the meat all over (not cooked through) and remove to a separate place.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil and fry off the onion and celery for 5 minutes. Throw in the garlic towards the end along with the spices. Give a good stir.

Pour over the water, stock, pasatta, bay leaves, dill and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, add the beef from earlier, and turn down to a simmer.

Simmer for between 90 minutes and 2 hours, covered.

Add the rice and lemon juice or tamarind paste and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add the parsley and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Ladle into bowls and enjoy!