On The Coast's Urban Foodie: Seasons change and so do menus

With the chill in the air calling for heartier and hotter dishes, On The Coast's Urban Foodie Anya Levykh says restaurants are launching news menus and new flavours to help combat the cold.

Of course, that means you should expect to find a lot of stews and braised meats on menus, but also more vegetable-focused dishes, and some new flavour combinations.

"The vegetable-forward trend we talked about earlier in the fall is definitely going strong through the winter, and it's not just at vegan and vegetarian restaurants," Levykh told On the Coast's Gloria Macarenko.

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For home chefs who want to keep things hearty at home, this week's recipe is kharcho soup.

"This is a very popular traditional hearty soup from the Georgia region which features beef brisket and sour cream and vegetables," Levykh said.

This week's recipe: kharcho soup

From Russian Cuisine: Traditional and Contemporary Home Cuisine by Maria Depenweiller

Makes 6 servings; preparation time: 30 minutes; cooking time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 lb (500 g) beef (brisket or ribs) or lamb (ribs), bone in, pre-cut in bite-size pieces
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 23 garlic cloves, minced
• cup (125 mL) barley
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• 1 tsp (5 mL) black pepper
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) butter
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped
• cup (60 mL) fresh parsley,chopped
• cup (60 mL) fresh cilantro, chopped
• 6 Tbsp (90 mL) sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Place the meat in a large stockpot, cover with cold water and cook on medium heat for about 1.5 hours, periodically removing any foam that appears on the surface.

Add onions, garlic, barley, salt, pepper and continue cooking on medium-low heat for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat the butter and stir fry the tomatoes until soft.

Add tomatoes to the soup and cook for 10 minutes before removing from heat.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls or plates and garnish with parsley and cilantro. If desired, sour cream can also be used to garnish.

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled:Eat hearty this fall and winter with this recipe for kharcho soup