Ciorbă de perișoare with beetroot and vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion (150 g)
• 2 carrots (150 g)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the meatballs

• 500 g ground pork and beef
• 15 g rice
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2000 ml water
• 2 medium potatoes (300 g)
• 2 small zucchini (400 g)
• 2 tomatoes (250 g)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Vegeta
• 1 teaspoon dried lovage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon Borș Magic
• 2 medium cooked beetroot (300 g)
• 15 g fresh parsley
• 100 g sour cream

Preparation

1. Finely chop the red onion and cut the carrots into rounds or cubes. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion and carrots for 5 minutes, until they soften slightly. 2. Mix the ground meat well with the rice, egg and thyme, then shape into meatballs. 3. Put 2000 ml of water, the sautéed onion and carrots, the peeled and cubed potatoes, and the meatballs in the soup pot. Bring to a boil in about 10 minutes. 4. Simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the meatballs are cooked through. 5. Peel the zucchini and cut into rounds. Dice the tomatoes, then add them to the pot along with the zucchini, tomato paste, Vegeta, dried lovage, white pepper and Borș Magic. Boil for 8 minutes, until the zucchini soften. 6. Dice the cooked beetroot and add it to the soup for the last 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley. Serve with sour cream.