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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.
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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.
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FAQs
If you are adding meat to a soup, sear or brown it in a sauté pan before you add it to the soup. This adds a deeper savory flavor to the whole soup.
How do you fix tough beef in soup? ›
Simmering in a little bit of liquid or broth is a great way to tenderize. Acidity can also be your friend here. A little bit of vinegar and lemon juice in the liquid can help you tenderize the meat. It adds moisture, but it also cooks the meat.
Where is Kharcho from? ›
Kharcho is a catch-all term for spicy Georgian beef stew. Though it hails from the Black Sea region of Mingrelia, today it's a staple across many former Soviet countries.
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 is the most flavorful beef for 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!
What enhances the flavor of beef? ›
Beef tastes great when seasoned with oregano, rosemary, sage, garlic or a combination of these seasonings. Poultry gets an added burst of flavor with spices like paprika, lemongrass and saffron. Fish can be made more flavorful with dry mustard powder, thyme and turmeric.
How long does it take for beef to get tender in soup? ›
Place a lid on top, turn heat down to low, then simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove lid then gently simmer for another 1-1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender and stew has thickened, stirring occasionally. If the stew begins to reduce too quickly before the meat is tender, place the lid back on top.
What liquid makes beef tender? ›
Soaking meat in a marinade made with lemon or lime juice, vinegar, buttermilk or even yogurt can help tenderize tough proteins. The key is to not leave the meat in the marinade for too long, as acids can weaken the protein structure of the meat too much, making it too soft and mushy. Aim for 30 minutes to two hours.
Does beef get more tender the longer you cook it? ›
Your meat will be juicier and more tender
The longer cooking time and the low heat complement each other perfectly. As a result, even though the meat is cooked for far longer, it doesn't dry out because the temperature is low. As a result, this is the best way to retain all the natural juices of the meat.
What is the history of kharcho soup? ›
Megrelian kharcho is a Georgian dish from the South Caucasus Mountains of Samegrelo Region, the historical homeland of the Mingrelian people. This region long remained isolated from the rest of Georgia, in part because of the distinct Mingrelian language which is still spoken in the community today.
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's the number one soup in America? ›
Chicken Noodle Soup is the most popular soup in America. More than 28% of consumers choose clam chowder as their favorite kind of soup. The global soup market size was valued at USD 16.1 billion in 2018. Vegetable soup is the second most popular soup in the U.S after chicken noodle soup.
What is the brown foam in beef soup? ›
When soups and stocks are about to boil, proteins start to congeal and create foams that rise to the surface. It's usually whitish or brownish and you need to remove the form as quickly as possible before it boils and mixes up the scum with the soup/stock.
How do you fix bland beef soup? ›
The best way to ensure a flavorful soup is to brown the beef and onions in the beginning. If the soup tastes bland at the end of cooking, add more spices and herbs. After adding, allow the soup to cook a little longer so the flavors to meld together.
How do you fix tasteless beef stew? ›
You can toss the beef in seasoned flour before browning it which will also help thicken the stew. Not adding enough seasoning would be the second potential issue. Add plenty of pepper and some salt and it should taste better. Using beef stock or red wine is better than water for the liquid.
How to make beef stew more beefy? ›
I almost always add some beef bouillon crystals to my stew, it helps oomph (yes, a technical term) the beefiness of the stock. Sometimes also use a few shots of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce - both will also add some oomph to the flavor.
How do you fix bland beef stew? ›
A squeeze of lemon juice can brighten a soup or stew and even a grilled or seared steak. If you'd like to always have juice or zest on hand for seasoning, try freezing in small portions, such as in an ice-cube tray. You can toss the frozen juice or zest straight into a hot soup or stew. Don't overlook vinegars, either.
