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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.
Kharcho is Georgian in origin but has been adopted 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
3 tsp 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
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
How to Make Beef Soup (Kharcho):
1. Sprinkle meat with 3 tsp 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 dill then 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)
Ingredients
- 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
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Made this with beef shanks that I simmered for a couple of hours ahead of time. Otherwise followed recipe as written. Absolutely delicious, it was a big hit!
I love this recipe and a few others of yours. Wish I could get your book. Question, I am looking for a recipe similar to kharcho but without tomatoes. I have a child that is allergic to tomatoes. Is there something I could substitute?
HI Robert, I haven’t tried any substitutions for tomatoes here so I’m not sure what to recommend that would replace that.
It’s very sour? Maybe that’s the way it should be. Also, would add more rice in future. Possibly even double.
HI Mita, normally it’s not very sour. Did you use fresh lemon juice or lemon juice from concentrate? You’ll always get better flavor with fresh.
Hi Natasha, Would it work to substitute barley instead of the rice? I wanted to try making beef barley soup, especially if it would work to use left over roast beef roast from Sunday dinner.
I think that would be a fun way to experiment! Just make sure to watch the soup as it cooks to get your desired thickness and texture. Enjoy!
Love all your recipes♥️Easy and delicious.
Hi Natasha,
Does this soup freeze well? If so, how would you defrost/reheat it?
Thanks!
Hi Rob, I imagine that would be fine. Just allow it to cool down before putting it to an airtight container before freezing it and thaw it before reheating.
Natasha,
Can I use freshly cooked 3 lbs. shredded beef in this recipe? And how should I do it? I do not want to change the recipe. HELP!
Hi Victoria, I haven’t tested that version to advise. I think that will work but you’ll have to experiment on the timing.