Ciorbă de perișoare

Name: Ciorbă de perișoare
Ingredients: 200 g ground pork; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; 80 g rice; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; 10 g semolina; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper; 1 medium onion (150 g); 30 ml oil; 2 medium bell peppers in different colors (300 g); 3 medium carrots (240 g); 6 peppercorns; 200 g puréed tomatoes; 1 bay leaf; 1750 ml water; 150 ml Romanian borș; 15 g parsley; 15 g lovage

Soups - Ciorbă de perișoare by Tatiana J. - Recipia

Ciorbă de perișoare, a Romanian sour meatball soup with vegetables, starts with a mixture chilled for 10 minutes before the meatballs are shaped, then simmers in tomato broth. The carrots and peppers soften in the broth, while the pork and rice meatballs simmer for another 5-7 minutes after they float to the surface. I like it slightly sour, without the borș overpowering the taste of the vegetables. Preparation: 20 minutes. Cooking: 41 minutes. Rest: 15 minutes. Total time: 76 minutes. Servings: 4. Approximately 360 kcal and 14 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

200 g ground pork
1 egg
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
80 g rice
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
10 g semolina
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 medium onion (150 g)
30 ml oil
2 medium bell peppers in different colors (300 g)
3 medium carrots (240 g)
6 peppercorns
200 g puréed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1750 ml water
150 ml Romanian borș
15 g parsley
15 g lovage

Preparation

1. Put the ground pork in a bowl with the egg, rice, sweet paprika, thyme, semolina, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper. Mix, cover the bowl and chill the mixture for 10 minutes. 2. Peel and chop the onion. Cook it in 2 tablespoons of oil for 5 minutes, until softened. 3. Cut the peppers into pieces and the carrots into rounds. Add them to the pot along with the peppercorns, puréed tomatoes, bay leaf and 1750 ml of water. Boil for 15 minutes, until the carrots soften. 4. Shape the meatballs and add them to the pot. Let them boil for 15 minutes, until they float to the surface. Once they float, I cook them for 6 more minutes. 5. Chop the parsley and lovage. Add the borș and herbs, then turn off the heat. Cover the pot and leave it for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Semolina contains gluten, and the egg used in the meatballs is an allergen. Keep the soup covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; as it sits, the rice absorbs more broth, and when reheating, you can thin out a serving with a little water. Ground pork with a little fat makes meatballs that are less dense than very lean pork; choose a medium grind, not a paste-like one. Thick carrot rounds take longer to soften, so keep them close in thickness to make sure some don’t stay hard. Borș varies in acidity from one producer to another, so taste it before measuring if you know it is very sour. As with dumpling soup, the meatballs are the soft part in each spoonful, but here the rice cooks right inside the meatballs, and the broth has tomatoes and borș. Serve it with fresh bread, good for dipping in the sour broth.