Quotes
Харчо | Kharcho
Spicy Georgian beef soup
Plum fruit leather, called tklapi, is normally used in Georgia to add a sensuous sour note to this soup, but in Ukraine we usually just use tomato. I like to add some pomegranate molasses, too, for that extra sweet-and-sour kick. This thick, sumptuous soup is another incredible hangover cure.
Serves 4
2 dried red chillies, crushed (keep the seeds)
pinch of saffron threads
1 carrot, peeled and diced
100g (3½oz) white long-grain rice
1 beef tomato (skin discarded), grated
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
4 small garlic cloves, peeled
100g (3½oz) walnuts, toasted
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Stock
600g (1lb 3oz) Jacob’s ladder (beef short ribs, cut into individual ribs) or beef shin
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 litres (5¼ pints) cold water
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
5 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
To serve
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons chopped purple (or regular) basil
1 To make the stock, first season the ribs or shin well with salt and pepper. Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and brown the meat. Cover with the water and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
2 Add the onions, bay leaf, peppercorns and crushed coriander seeds and cook for another 30–60 minutes. You want the meat to start falling apart.
3 Once the beef is tender, add the crushed chillies, saffron, carrot and rice to the stock and cook for 10 minutes.
4 Add the grated tomato and pomegranate molasses and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste and season the soup – it should be spicy and sharp.
5 Bash the garlic cloves with a pinch of sea salt flakes using a pestle and mortar, then add the walnuts and bash until it turns into a paste. Add to the broth and cook for another 5 minutes. The soup should be thick and luscious. Serve it with the fresh coriander and basil.
Spicy Georgian beef soup
Plum fruit leather, called tklapi, is normally used in Georgia to add a sensuous sour note to this soup, but in Ukraine we usually just use tomato. I like to add some pomegranate molasses, too, for that extra sweet-and-sour kick. This thick, sumptuous soup is another incredible hangover cure.
Serves 4
2 dried red chillies, crushed (keep the seeds)
pinch of saffron threads
1 carrot, peeled and diced
100g (3½oz) white long-grain rice
1 beef tomato (skin discarded), grated
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
4 small garlic cloves, peeled
100g (3½oz) walnuts, toasted
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Stock
600g (1lb 3oz) Jacob’s ladder (beef short ribs, cut into individual ribs) or beef shin
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 litres (5¼ pints) cold water
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
5 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
To serve
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons chopped purple (or regular) basil
1 To make the stock, first season the ribs or shin well with salt and pepper. Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and brown the meat. Cover with the water and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
2 Add the onions, bay leaf, peppercorns and crushed coriander seeds and cook for another 30–60 minutes. You want the meat to start falling apart.
3 Once the beef is tender, add the crushed chillies, saffron, carrot and rice to the stock and cook for 10 minutes.
4 Add the grated tomato and pomegranate molasses and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste and season the soup – it should be spicy and sharp.
5 Bash the garlic cloves with a pinch of sea salt flakes using a pestle and mortar, then add the walnuts and bash until it turns into a paste. Add to the broth and cook for another 5 minutes. The soup should be thick and luscious. Serve it with the fresh coriander and basil.
Пiтi | Piti
Azerbaijani chickpea & mutton soup
I visited Baku when I was two years old. My parents were really brave to take me together with my 10-year-old brother on a 1,300-mile road trip in our old Zhiguli. It took us two days and finally we were there, just south of Iran, by the Caspian Sea. I wish I remembered more of the trip. All I have is a photo of my brother and me in a meadow by a lake, and a vague memory of watching TV in Azerbaijan. Even though nobody believes me, I remember Gorbachev talking passionately about something (perestroika?) on TV and how serious my parents’ faces looked. This soup is traditionally cooked in individual clay serving pots, but I prefer cooking it in a large pot and then decanting it into small bowls.
Serves 6
600g (1lb 3oz) mutton or lamb neck, cut into 6 large pieces
1 onion, peeled but kept whole
2 dried limes, pierced
2.5 litres (4 pints) cold water
125g (4oz) dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight and drained, or 400g (13oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 new potatoes, peeled but kept whole
1 bunch of parsley, stalks only
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
½ bunch of fresh coriander
½ bunch of dill
1 Place the meat, whole onion and dried limes in a large saucepan and cover with the water. Cook over a low heat for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
2 Add the chickpeas, potatoes, parsley stalks and the spices, and simmer for another hour or until the meat is meltingly tender and the chickpeas and potatoes are cooked. Season the broth well.
3 Take the potatoes and lamb out and serve them separately on the table, for people to take what they want themselves. Place the half-bunches of herbs on the table and again let your guests pinch off whatever leaves they want.
Azerbaijani chickpea & mutton soup
I visited Baku when I was two years old. My parents were really brave to take me together with my 10-year-old brother on a 1,300-mile road trip in our old Zhiguli. It took us two days and finally we were there, just south of Iran, by the Caspian Sea. I wish I remembered more of the trip. All I have is a photo of my brother and me in a meadow by a lake, and a vague memory of watching TV in Azerbaijan. Even though nobody believes me, I remember Gorbachev talking passionately about something (perestroika?) on TV and how serious my parents’ faces looked. This soup is traditionally cooked in individual clay serving pots, but I prefer cooking it in a large pot and then decanting it into small bowls.
Serves 6
600g (1lb 3oz) mutton or lamb neck, cut into 6 large pieces
1 onion, peeled but kept whole
2 dried limes, pierced
2.5 litres (4 pints) cold water
125g (4oz) dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight and drained, or 400g (13oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 new potatoes, peeled but kept whole
1 bunch of parsley, stalks only
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
½ bunch of fresh coriander
½ bunch of dill
1 Place the meat, whole onion and dried limes in a large saucepan and cover with the water. Cook over a low heat for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
2 Add the chickpeas, potatoes, parsley stalks and the spices, and simmer for another hour or until the meat is meltingly tender and the chickpeas and potatoes are cooked. Season the broth well.
3 Take the potatoes and lamb out and serve them separately on the table, for people to take what they want themselves. Place the half-bunches of herbs on the table and again let your guests pinch off whatever leaves they want.
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