Shurpa

It’s cold and ugly outside. Time for a hearty soup.

Shurpa is a general name for soup in the cuisines of Central Asia. In Europe, lamb soups are not very popular, yet in Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Turkmenistan and most importantly Uzbekistan, lamb soups are cooked to perfection.
Shurpa is not really a soup in the European sense, it’s rather a main course, like Vietnamese Pho. Shurpa is a very rich and mildly spicy stock with tender meat and vegetables.

Igredients:

Lamb – 0.7kg, mixed bones and meat
2 tomatoes, cut into big pieces – I know it’s winter! But try to get some good ones
2 onions
2 carrots
2 bell peppers, cut into big pieces

2 chillis
4-5 whole, peeled potatoes – waxy and firm ones
1 whole bulb, unpeeled bulb of garlic – just peel off the most dry, outer layer
fresh basil – about 2-3 stems
black peppercorns
whole cumin seeds – a generous pinch, crush it with your fingers a bit
salt
water

I am no claiming that this is the ultimate and authentic recipe, it’s not. First of all, the lamb is absolutely different here. Secondly, the vegetables aren’t as ripe and sweet, especially in winter. And finally, experts would say that this dish, just like most other central Asian dishes, should be cooked in a big cauldron called qozon, over open fire. But were not in Samarkand, so we will be cooking it in a cast iron pot, on a stove.
The chillies must be absolutely intact, otherwise you’ll end up with a fiery hot soup. Those who want their soup to be spicier can always scrape out some of the cooked chilli into their bowl!
You might use powdered cumin instead of whole seeds, but seeds are preferable. If you don’t have any cumin cook something else, it’s absolutely and utterly necessary.
Experts on shurpa, plov, manty and other central Asian dishes know which part of the lamb is good for each dish. I will not go into details because I’m not one of those experts. Just take some part that has both, bones and meat and also some fat. You definitely do need bones and please, do not cook your shurpa with expensive stuff like sirloin, chops etc. Take meat from the leg or the shoulder.
Cooking is very simple. Put the meat into a pot and add about 2.5 litres of water, bring to boil and skim the foam that forms. Add the other ingredients, cover and simmer on low heat for about 3 hours. Check the soup occasionally and remove any foam that might form. Season with salt.
Shurpa should actually be served in two bowls, one with the stock and one with the meat and vegetables, I didn’t do that this time. Make sure every bowl contains all ingredients.

It’s a great pity that Central Asian cuisine is not known in Europe. Especially Uzbek cuisine is one of the most complex, unique, and sophisticated cuisines in the world. It’s a cuisine completely dedicated to meat and it makes the best out of it, combining it with spices and vegetables that have been grown in a land where the sun always shines. It takes great pride in perfect ingredients, but uses up every last nasty bit at the same time.

Pumpkin soup

We enjoyed a fairly warm September, but now autumn has finally set in with rain and cooler air. I hope Indian summer will grant us some more warm days though! As autumn progresses I tend to cook more substantial meals full of seasonal produce. Apples, plums, local tomatoes and most importantly pumpkins and squash are all in their best form now. I used to hate pumpkin when I was a kid, but now I love it!

Ingredients:
1 kg of pumpkin
1 long stem of green celery
1 small clove of garlic
¼ of a long red chilli, deseeded
100gr bacon - diced
100ml cream
3-5 sage leaves
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, sugar
0.5 l water – chicken or vegetable stock is even better (NOT stock cubes)

In a medium sized pot heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and throw in the bacon. Fry for 1-2 minutes and add the roughly chopped garlic, celery and chilli, sauté on medium flame for 2 minutes. Peel and deseed the pumpkin and chop into medium sized pieces, the size of a matchbox approximately. Throw into the pot along with the whole sage leaves and turn up the heat. Sauté for another 3-5 minutes until the pumpkin starts to caramelize a bit. Pour in the hot water or stock and let boil gently on medium flame for 10-15 minutes until the pumpkin is soft. Pour the soup into a blender and blend until it’s smooth, a hand blender will do the job just as good. Pour back into the pot and add cream, season with salt and pepper. If the pumpkin is not sweet enough a pinch of sugar will balance out the flavor. Serve!

Those who are on a diet can leave out the bacon and cream, but I would suggest using stock then.

Borsch - Борщ - Boršč

When I was younger (14-18 years) me and my mom often went shopping in town and of course such shopping sprees always ended with a nice lunch. Once, many years ago we decided to try a Russian restaurant located on Na Příkopech. It was a long long time ago, maybe even 15 years. The restaurant was probably a survivor from communist times and has been closed down for good soon after we ate there.

We ordered borsch. What we got made us wonder whether they understood our order correctly and so we asked if this stuff they brought us is borsch. The waiter said - "Yes, it is, and if you don't like it go back to where you come from"...:-) Oh well, we ate, paid and left. This incident persisted in my memory not because of the hateful comment, which was actually my first and most importantly only encounter with hatred towards my origin, but because this borsch included frozen peas, corn and a smoked sausage.

Here is how I cook the Ukrainian national soup -

Ingredients:

0.7kg beef, chicken, pork or duck - with bones, excess fat removed

2 medium beetroots

2 medium carrots

0.5kg cabbage

2-3 big potatoes or 2 handfuls of soaked white beans

2 VERY ripe tomatoes or tomatoe puree (if you want to keep it simple)

salt, pepper

some vinegar - about 1 tablespoon

First of all you need a proper meat stock. Not the one made from stock cubes! Make some real stock from the meat. Tradition tells to use pork, dietary issues say the opposite, so I mostly use beef or chicken. Duck makes fabolous borsch! Let it simmer for several hours with a few bay leaves, peppercorns, whole onion, carrot and celeriac root. No need to strain the stock for borsch, you are not looking for transparancy here.

Once you have the stock peel the beetroot and carrots. Grate them on a grater, heat a pan with a little oil and add the grated vegetables. Let them simmer for a while, add grated tomatoes (or the puree). Season the mixture with salt and pepper and add about 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Pour into the broth. Cube the potatoes and add to the soup, I sometimes add beans instead of potatoes. Thinly slice the cabbage. Turn off the flame under the pot, add meat if you still haven't done so. Add salt and pepper to taste. That's it. No pickled, frozen or canned stuff and no smoked meat or sausages.

Serve with lots of sour cream!