Ciorba de perisoare - Meatball Soup

Ingredients:

Broth:

3 medium carrots, sliced

3 medium parsley roots, sliced

1 celery stalk

1 green pepper, seeded

2 Tbsp oil

Water or vegetable broth

Bors - Romanian or Polish (or lemon juice) to taste

1/2 teaspoon lovage

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Meatballs:

1 1/2 - 2 lb ground meat (pork)

1 handful rice

1 egg

1 small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon parsley, chopped

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Add 2 tablespoons of oil into a  5.5 qt pot .Sautee the carrots in  oil on medium heat until the oil becomes orange, add sliced parsley and sautee for 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened. Add the water, whole celery stalk, whole green pepper and leave to boil for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the meatballs.

To make the meatballs, mix well by hand all the ingredients. With wet hands, take a little of this mixture at a time and make walnut-sized little balls. Add meat balls one by one to simmering soup, reducing heat to very low. Cook the meatballs in about 20-30 minutes on medium heat.

Make sure that the meatballs are cooked through, add bors or fresh lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and black pepper. Turn off heat and add chopped parsley and lovage (if you have). Remove the celery stalk and green pepper. Serve with a spoon of sour cream and a slice of fresh bread.

NOTE:
This soup comes in a variety of flavors and variations. You can make the meatballs with ground beef, turkey, chicken; add chopped meat; or use shredded vegetables; if you like the soup creamy you can do this:

In a bowl, mix 2 egg yolks with sour cream until well blended. Remove the soup from the flame and add the egg/sour cream mixture. Do not boil the soup after this or it will curdle.

 

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