A daughter of the Talas valley, cooking in Chicago
Jibek's Dastorkon
shorpo

Shorpo

Time 2 h 30 min Serves 6 For Memorial meals, cold evenings Posted IradKyrgyzstanKazakhstan
Illustration of Shorpo

In Orto-Ayyl, shorpo was what the women put on the stove after a funeral or a memorial day, and on any evening when the first frost came down from the Talas Alatau. The pot was big, the vegetables went in great honest chunks, and nobody was in a hurry. It is the soup we make to hold each other up.

Our neighbours in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan make a very similar one. In an Iradi kitchen it is lamb or mutton only, and my grandmother always sprinkled a pinch of wild mountain cumin over her bowl at the table. Serve it with torn kümöch, eat the meat with your hands, and call someone you love while it simmers.

Ingredients 6 servings

  • For the broth
  • 1 kglamb on the bone, shank or ribs, in large pieces
  • 3 Lcold water
  • 2 onions, halved
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.5 tspblack peppercorns
  • 1.5 tbspsalt, or to taste
  • For the vegetables
  • 3 carrots, cut in thick chunks
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 3 tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 bell peppers, seeded and quartered
  • 1 small white cabbage wedge, about 200 g
  • To finish
  • 1 bunchdill, chopped
  • 1 bunchcoriander, chopped
  • ·black pepper, freshly ground

Method

  1. Put the lamb in a large pot, cover with 3 L cold water and bring slowly to a simmer over medium heat, about 20 minutes. Skim off all the grey foam.
  2. Add the onions, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Cover partly and simmer very gently for 1 hour 15 minutes, until the lamb is tender and pulls from the bone.
  3. Add the carrots and cabbage and simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Add the potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes more, until nearly tender.
  5. Add the tomatoes and bell peppers and cook for 10 minutes, until everything is soft but still holds its shape. Taste and adjust the salt.
  6. Lift the meat and vegetables onto a large platter, keeping the broth hot. Ladle broth into deep bowls, scatter dill, coriander and pepper over it, and serve the platter alongside.
From my kitchenSkim in the first twenty minutes and keep the pot at a bare simmer; a rolling boil turns the broth cloudy and the lamb stringy.

With love from my kitchen to yours,Jibek

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