This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Beef Soup Kharcho (pronounced harcho), is a hearty beef soup in tomato broth with a wonderful blend of spices and plenty of fresh herbs. The beef is fall-apart tender and just melts in your mouth – delicious!All it needs is a thick slice of fresh crusty bread.
This beef stew also reheats really well and I was pleasantly surprised that my 1-year old loved it! This recipe also made a soup Kharcho lover out of my husband.
Kharchois Georgian in origin but has beenadopted and well loved by Ukrainians for many years. This recipe was loosely adapted from The New Ukrainian Cookbook.
Ingredients for Beef and Tomato Soup (Kharcho):
3 lb beef stew meat
3tsp salt (I used fine sea salt)
4 Tbsp light olive oil (or any cooking oil), divided
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
4 cups beef broth +4 cup filtered water
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 dry bay leaves
1tsp groundcoriander seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup uncooked white rice (I used Jasmine)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 mediumlemon)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, plus more to serve
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, plus more to serve
How to Make Beef Soup (Kharcho):
1. Sprinkle meat with 3tsp salt and stir. Heat a dutch oven or soup pot over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add beef in 2 batches,sautéing until browned on all sides (don’t worry about cooking it through). Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Add chopped onion and celery with more oil as needed. Saute 5 minutes until softened.
3. Add canned tomatoes with their juice, 4 cups broth, 4 cups water, 2 bay leaves and browned beef. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender.
4. Add 1/2 cup white rice, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp paprika. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
5. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup parsley and 1/4 cup dillthen cover and let sit off heat another 10 minutes before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed and serve with more fresh herbs as desired.
Beef Soup (Kharcho)
Beef Soup Kharcho (pronounced harcho), is a hearty beef soup in tomato broth with a wonderful blend of spices and plenty of fresh herbs.
SavePinReviewPrint
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Ingredients
Servings: 12 cups of soup
- 3 lb beef stew meat
- 3 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp light olive oil, or any cooking oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 4 cups beef broth + 4 cup filtered water
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice, I used Jasmine
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 medium lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, plus more to serve
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped, plus more to serve
Instructions
Sprinkle meat with 3 tsp salt and stir. Heat dutch oven or soup pot over medium/high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add beef in 2 batches, sautéing until browned on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside. Don't worry about cooking it through.
Add chopped onion and celery with more oil as needed. Saute 5 min until softened.
Add canned tomatoes with their juice, 4 cups broth, 4 cups water, 2 bay leaves and browned beef. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender.
Add 1/2 cup white rice, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp paprika. Cover and simmer 20 min or until rice is tender.
Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup parsley and 1/4 cup dill then cover and let sit off heat another 10 min before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with more fresh herbs as desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
253kcal Calories11g Carbs27g Protein11g Fat3g Saturated Fat70mg Cholesterol1045mg Sodium612mg Potassium1g Fiber2g Sugar370IU Vitamin A11mg Vitamin C60mg Calcium3mg Iron
- Full Nutrition Label
- Nutrition Disclosure
Nutrition Facts
Beef Soup (Kharcho)
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Russian
Keyword: beef soup, soup kharcho
Skill Level: Easy/Medium
Cost to Make: $$
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Natasha Kravchuk
Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.
Read more posts by Natasha
FAQs
Kharcho, also spelled as Harcho (Georgian: ხარჩო), is a traditional Georgian soup containing beef, rice, cherry plum purée and it can have chopped walnuts (Juglans regia), but they are not compulsory. The soup is seasoned with Khmeli Suneli and coriander. The soup is usually served with finely chopped fresh coriander.
What is the premier soup of Georgia? ›
Final answer: The premier soup of Georgia is often considered to be khinkali or kharcho. Khinkali is more of a soup dumpling, while kharcho is a traditional soup made with walnuts, beef, rice, and various spices.
What cut of beef makes good soup? ›
The best cut of meat for beef soup is either a chuck roast, chuck shoulder, chuck-eye roast or top chuck – with chuck roast being my personal favorite. These are the most tender cuts. Despite what the name suggests, stew meat is not your best choice in a beef soup recipe!
How do you fix tough beef in soup? ›
I've struggled with tough beef in my soups, stews, and curries. So, I'm finally happy to say the trick to tender beef soup is to simmer it long enough, for about two and half to three hours and use beef chuck instead of stew meat. I trimmed the hard fat off the beef chuck and chopped it into mostly even size pieces.
How do you pronounce Kharcho? ›
Beef Soup Kharcho (pronounced harcho), is a hearty beef soup in tomato broth with a wonderful blend of spices and plenty of fresh herbs. The beef is fall-apart tender and just melts in your mouth – delicious! All it needs is a thick slice of fresh crusty bread.
How many calories are in Kharcho soup? ›
Nutritional value of 100 g of product: proteins - 8.5 g, fats - 8 g, carbohydrates - 42 g, Energy value (caloric content) - 1170 kJ (280 kcal). Store at a temperature not exceeding 20 ° С and a relative humidity of not more than 75%.
What is the No 1 soup in the world? ›
According to the Taste Atlas Awards, the international food database, the Filipino favorite, Sinigang, is hailed as the best soup in the world.
What is Queen Elizabeth's favorite soup? ›
The Queen had a favorite soup… Callaloo…a Carribean soup with callaloo leaves. Callaloo leaves are the leafy tops of the amaranth plant…but you can substitute baby spinach.
What's the number one soup in America? ›
The top three favorite soups nationwide are: Broccoli Cheddar Soup with 54.6M servings. Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup with 23M servings. Creamy Tomato Soup with 22.3M servings.
Is stock or broth better for beef soup? ›
As a result, stock is usually a healthier product, delivering a richer mouth feel and deeper flavor than broth. Stock is a versatile culinary tool that can deliver taste to any number of dishes. Darker in color and more concentrated in flavor than broth, it's ideal for use in soups, rice, sauces and more.
Flat Iron Steak - This cut may be the best-kept secret in the meat industry. Butchers and beef experts have long favored the flat iron for its incredible tenderness — it is a close second to its more popular cousin, the filet mignon, considered the most tender steak of them all.
Do you cook beef before adding to soup? ›
How to make Beef Soup. The key step here is to brown the beef well – aggressively is the term that I use. This adds a ton of flavour to the beef itself and the broth, from the brown bits on the bottom of the pot that dissolves into the broth.
Can you overcook beef soup? ›
Turns out you definitely can overcook beef stew.
How long does it take for beef to get tender in soup? ›
After two hours, take the lid off then simmer low and slow for another 1-1/2 hours, or until the beef is tender and the sauce is has thickened. Again, we're going for a gravy-ish consistency. Simmering the stew with the lid ON allows the connective tissues in the beef to break down.
Can you slow cook beef for too long? ›
Yes, you can slow cook (braise) for too long. If you braise, let us say pork butt or basically anything, too long, it can render it to mush. The basic principle or purpose of slow cooking (braising) is to render tough meat to tender. Braising is a wonderful thing because in addition to...
Where is conch soup from? ›
Conch soup and conch chowder are soup dishes made with conch that are traditional in various Caribbean island cuisines as well as the cuisine of Honduras. Conch chowder is also a traditional food of the Florida Keys.
What is the history of Kharcho? ›
The term 'Kharcho' is a word that rolls off the tongue, rooted in the Georgian language, with a phonetic elegance that belies its humble origins. Some whisper that it derives from an ancient word for "boiled meat," while others argue that it speaks to the characteristic sourness imparted by cherry plums or tamarind.
Where does sorrel soup come from? ›
Sorrel soup is a pale green thread that runs through the cuisines of Eastern Europe. The Poles serve it cold, garnished with hard boiled eggs and sour cream.
Where did duck blood soup originate? ›
Duck blood and vermicelli soup (Chinese: 鸭血粉丝汤) is a traditional delicacy of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, and is also eaten in other regions of China. A similar dish is eaten in Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania, where it's called czernina.
