ROMANIAN MEATBALL SOUR SOUP (CIORBA DE PERISOARE)

Romanian Meatball Sour Soup (Ciorba de Perisoare) image

Honestly to-die-for soup. Romanians from Transylvania have a saying: 'asa'i de buna, ca-ti vine sa-ti bati copiii cu lantul ud, sa-i sui in pod si sa le furi scara' (so good, you feel like you want to tie up your kids, stick them in the attic, and steal the ladder). Not that the Transylvanians will do anything like that... Serve in bowls topped with extra sour cream.

Provided by SeaFem

Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Beef Soup Recipes

Time 2h

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 22

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil, or to taste
3 carrots, grated
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 parsley root, grated
3 quarts water
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 stalks celery, halved
1 pound ground beef
½ onion, finely chopped
2 egg whites
¼ cup rinsed medium-grain rice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pinch dried dill weed
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon lovage leaves
1 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning blend (such as Mrs. Dash®)
½ teaspoon dried dill weed
½ teaspoon dried parsley
1 lemon, juiced
½ (8 ounce) carton sour cream
2 egg yolks

Steps:

Heat oil in a 6-quart pot over medium heat. Add carrots, red bell pepper, 1 red onion, and parsley root; cook and stir until slightly softened, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour in water. Add tomatoes and celery. Simmer until flavors combine, about 30 minutes.
Mix ground beef, 1/2 onion, egg whites, rice, flour, 1 pinch dill, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Wet your palms with water and roll spoonfuls of the beef mixture into meatballs.
Drop meatballs carefully into the pot. Cook until no longer pink in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. Stir in lovage, garlic herb seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon dill, and parsley. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice.
Mix sour cream and egg yolks together in a small bowl. Stir into the soup. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 242 calories, Carbohydrate 15.4 g, Cholesterol 92.7 mg, Fat 14.2 g, Fiber 2.4 g, Protein 13.4 g, SaturatedFat 5.8 g, Sodium 126.1 mg, Sugar 4.4 g