Chorba Lsan Tair - Orzo Meat Soup
Ingredients
- 2 small white onions (peeled and grated)
- 1 small white onion (peeled and kept whole)
- 1 carrot (peeled, cored, and cubed)
- 3 small potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- 2 celery branches (cut in half)
- 1 small bouquet of flat-leaf parsley
- 1 small bouquet of cilantro
- 1/2 pound beef cut into small cubes (you can replace with lamb or chicken)
- spices: 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, a large pinch of saffon, and freshly grated pepper (adjust to taste)
- 8 cups water (2 liters)
- 2 tomatoes (boiled for 1 minutes, peeled, and cubed)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon smen (clarified butter / ghee)
- 1/2 cup orzo
Directions
First, we are going to prepare the vegetables. Here I have a bunch of onions. Grate 2 onions and keep 1 small onion, peeled and whole, to put later in the soup.
Take a beautiful carrot, peel it, cut in half, remove the core, and cut it into small cubes.
Peel and cube 3 small white potatoes.
Cut 2 celery branches in half.
You will also need a small bouquet of parsley and a small bouquet of cilantro. Tie them us using one of the parsley branches.When the vegetables are ready, we are going to start making the soup. First, we are going to brown the meat. I am using 1/2 pound of beef meat cut into small cubes but feel free to replace it with lamb or chicken.
On medium heat, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot. Add the grated onion, cook for 2 minutes, then add the meat and the spices (1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of ginger, and a large pinch of saffron threads). Let the meat cook for 2 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Add 8 cups of water (2 liters) to the meat.
Add 1 whole onion, the carrots and potatoes, the celery branches, the bouquets of parsley and cilantro.
Cover you pot and let cook on medium-high heat for 15 minutes.Now that we put the soup to cook we are going to prepare the tomatoes.
Place 2 tomatoes in boiling water and let them cook for 1 minutes. Peel the tomatoes then dice them into small cubes. Place the tomatoes in a bowl and crush them with a fork.
After cooking the soup for 15 minutes, add the tomato cubes and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste.
Cover the pot and let the soup cook for 45 minutes on medium-high heat.After 45 minutes, check on the meat to see if it's cooked. If so, remove the celery branches and parsley and cilantro from the soup. Discard.
Taste the soup and adjust the spices accordingly (salt, ground ginger, and freshly ground pepper).
Add 1/2 teaspoon of smen (clarified butter / ghee) and 1/2 cup of orzo.
Mix the soup using a laddle, cover, and let cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Reserve the whole onions for special people who love it!
Serve the soup hot! Bonne Appetit!
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