Բ ա զ ո ւ կ ո վ ա պ ո ւ ր
In the mountain town of Dilijan, chef Alex Ghazaryan demonstrated a decidedly South Caucasus take on beet soup at Tufenkian Old Dilijan Complex, a hotel. His version takes the idea of borscht but places more emphasis on the beet greens, not the beets. Alex also adds pomegranate molasses and fresh mint, which brighten the otherwise earthy, sweet flavors of the beets.
Make this soup in two parts, cooking the split peas and rice in the soup pot and the beets in a separate pot. The beets can be cooked a few days before making the soup—in fact, if you have cooked beets left over from a different recipe, use them in this soup. If the beet greens are scraggly, you can use a bunch of green Swiss chard instead. Leftover meat from Khashlama (page 208) can be added to beef up the flavor, though the soup is equally satisfying without it.
Serves 4
2 Tbsp sunflower oil or other neutral oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 cup [100 g] yellow split peas
2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
8 cups [2 L] water
1 bunch red beets, with greens attached (about 3 beets total)
3 or 4 sorrel leaves (optional), sliced
1/4 cup [50 g] long-grain rice
1 bay leaf
1 cup [150 g] sliced cooked beef (optional)
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 Tbsp chopped mint, for serving
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and sweat until softened but before it begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the split peas, 1 tsp of the salt, and the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently until the split peas are softened but not fully cooked in the center, about 35 minutes. Turn off the heat but keep the pot on the stove.
Meanwhile, trim away the beets from the stems, then cut the stems from the greens. Wash the beets, the stems, and the greens thoroughly to remove any mud or grit. In a separate soup pot or saucepan with a lid, cover the beets with water and bring to a boil. Lower to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the beets are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 25 minutes. Drain.
When the beets are cool enough to handle, use your fingers or a paring knife to slip off their skins. Discard the skins and dice the beets into pieces that will fit on a soup spoon.
Cut the stems of the greens into 1 in [2.5 cm] pieces and slice the greens into thick ribbons. You should have about 6 cups [330 g] of greens.
Bring the pot with the split peas back to a simmer. Stir in the sorrel, if using, the rice, stems, greens, diced beets, bay leaf, and remaining 1 tsp salt. Cook until the rice and split peas are cooked all the way through, about 20 minutes. Stir in the beef, if using, and pomegranate molasses. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook until the meat is hot all the way through. Taste, seasoning with more salt, if desired.
Ladle into 4 soup bowls and sprinkle mint on top to serve. Leftover soup keeps, refrigerated, for up to 1 week. Bring to a simmer with a splash of water before serving. (The rice and split peas absorb broth over time.)
