Chicken ciorbă de perișoare with sour cream and lemon

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 1 kg chicken breast
• 1 large onion (200 g)
• 120 ml rice
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

For the soup

• 2 medium onions (300 g)
• 2 medium carrots (150 g)
• 1 medium red pepper (150 g)
• 3000 ml water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 45 ml lemon juice
• 1 head garlic
• 1 egg yolk
• 150 g sour cream with at least 20% fat
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 15 g parsley

Preparation

1. Put 3000 ml water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a pot. Bring the water to a boil in about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the vegetables and slice the onions into thin strips, the carrots into rounds and the pepper into small cubes. 2. Add the vegetables to the boiling water, cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes, until the carrot starts to soften. 3. Pat the chicken breast dry with paper towels and cut it into pieces. Chop it in a food processor with the onion for the meatballs, then mix in the rice, egg, egg white, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and thyme. Once the vegetables are partly cooked, shape the meatballs and add them to the pot. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through; take one out and check it. 4. Add 45 ml lemon juice. Peel and crush the garlic, then mix it with the egg yolk and sour cream. Take the sour cream out of the fridge 15 minutes before using it. 5. Gradually pour 100 ml hot broth from the pot into the sour cream mixture, stirring as you go. Pour it into the soup and stir vigorously. 6. Simmer the soup for another 10 minutes, until it is barely bubbling. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley.