Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorba De Perisoare)
Romanian meatball soup is one of the most traditional soups of Romanian cuisine and the pride of every Romanian cook. "Perisoare" means meatballs usually made with minced pork, beef, or a combination of both mixed with rice, egg, and spices, then boiled in the soup or ciorba.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 307kcal
Equipment
- 1 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground meat pork, beef or a mixture of both
- ¼ cup uncooked rice long grain
- 1 medium onion diced
- ½ bunch of parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
For the soup:
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 medium size carrots diced
- 2-3 celery stalks diced or one small celery root diced
- 1 medium onion diced, or 2-3 diced green onions
- 1 medium bell pepper diced
- 3-4 medium potatoes peeled and chopped in cubes
- ½ cup tomato sauce or 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups water or chicken broth
- ½ bunch parsley chopped or lovage-as it is traditional
- Optional: hot peppers sour cream, or yogurt for serving.
Instructions
- Clean and chop/dice the vegetables.
- In a soup pot, pour oil and add the chopped vegetables except for the potatoes. The potatoes cook faster than the other vegetables, so they go into the pot later. Saute the vegetables until they develop the flavor, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add water or chicken broth. Add tomato paste or tomato sauce and cubed potatoes. Simmer the soup until the vegetables are half cooked, about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the ground meat, rice, egg, chopped onion, parsley, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Mix everything to incorporate all the ingredients and make a paste. Set aside.
- With wet hands, grab a dollop of the meat mixture and roll it between your palms to create a meatball. Keeping your hands wet, drop the meatballs into the soup.
- Let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes so the meatballs get cooked. Taste for salt.
To make the soup sour:
- Add two tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice. Taste and add some more as you prefer.
- Chop the parsley and sprinkle it over the soup.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and hot peppers.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 362mg | Potassium: 903mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3131IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 3mg
