Lamb ciorbă with borș de putină

Ingredients

• 700 g lamb head and backbone with meat
• 250 g lamb intestines
• 2500 ml water
• 1 teaspoon iodized salt
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1000 ml water
• 1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
• 1 medium yellow onion (150 g)
• 2 medium carrots (160 g)
• 50 g celery
• 25 g parsnip
• 50 g parsley root
• 25 g kohlrabi
• 1 bunch spring onions (100 g)
• 1 bunch green garlic (100 g)
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 50 ml water
• 1/2 bunch lovage (7 g)
• 3 sprigs tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1000 ml borș de putină
• 4 egg yolks
• 350 ml sour cream with 20% fat
• 1 small hot pepper (15 g)
• 15 ml vinegar
• 15 ml lemon juice

Preparation

1. Pat the meat dry with paper towels and put it in a pot with 2500 ml cold water and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer for 25 minutes over medium heat, with the lid ajar, skimming off the foam as it gathers on the surface. 2. Rinse the lamb intestines about 3 times in cold water, draining them each time. Rub them with 2 tablespoons cornmeal and 1 tablespoon salt, then rinse under cold running water. Wrap some of them around the small bones and finely chop the rest. 3. Put the intestines and small bones in 1000 ml boiling water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Boil for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside for the soup. 4. Peel and cut the onion, carrots, celery, parsnip, parsley root and kohlrabi into chunks. Chop the spring onion, green garlic, lovage and tarragon. Sauté them for 5 minutes in 2 tablespoons oil and 50 ml water, until softened and fragrant with spring onion, then add them to the pot with the lamb. Add the intestines and small bones, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Simmer for 25 minutes, until the meat comes easily off the bone. 5. Pour in the borș de putină and simmer for another 10 minutes over medium heat. 6. Take the sour cream out of the fridge 15 minutes before you thicken the soup. Beat the sour cream with the egg yolks, stir a few spoonfuls of hot broth into it, then pour it into the pot and let the soup bubble gently for 2 minutes. 7. Serve hot, with chopped lovage. Put hot pepper, vinegar or lemon juice on the table, to taste.