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Romanian Ciorbă de Perișoare – Sour Soup with Meatballs
70 min4 servingsMedium
Ingredients
- 400 gGround pork, approximately 10% fat
- 45 gRice
- 1 kusEgg
- 50 gOnion, finely chopped for the meatballs
- 2 gSalt for the meatballs
- 1 gGround black pepper
- 20 mlSunflower oil
- 100 gOnion, finely chopped for the soup
- 160 gCarrot, cut into small dice
- 100 gCeleriac, cut into small dice
- 120 gRed bell pepper, cut into small dice
- 200 gTomatoes, diced
- 1500 mlWater
- 250 mlUnsweetened fermented wheat borș
- 7 gSalt for the soup
- 10 gFresh lovage, chopped
- 10 gFresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the rice and vegetables
Rinse the rice in cold water and drain. Cut the onion, carrot, celeriac, and bell pepper into small dice; dice the tomatoes separately.
- 2
Make the soup base
Heat the oil in a pot. Add 100 g onion, the carrot, celeriac, and bell pepper, and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and the vegetables become fragrant but do not brown. Stir in the tomatoes, pour in 1,500 ml water, add 7 g salt, and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 12 minutes.
- 3
Shape the meatballs
In a bowl, combine the ground pork, drained rice, egg, 50 g chopped onion, 2 g salt, and black pepper. Mix until evenly combined. With damp hands, shape the mixture into 16 small meatballs, about 3 cm in diameter.
- 4
Cook the meatballs in the soup
Carefully add the meatballs to the gently bubbling soup. Do not stir them for the first 5 minutes, then stir the soup gently. Cook for another 15 minutes over low heat; the meatballs should be firm and thoroughly cooked, and the rice in the center should be tender.
- 5
Add the sour borș and herbs
Bring the borș to a boil in a small saucepan and boil for 2 minutes. Pour it into the soup, add the lovage and parsley, and let everything simmer gently together for 3 minutes. Taste: the soup should be distinctly sour but not sharply acidic; if needed, add exactly 1 g salt. Serve hot.