Ciorba de Perisoare | Romanian Porcupine Meatballs Sour Soup
This classic Romanian soup features hearty meatballs simmered in a flavourful broth with diced veggies and potatoes then finished with sour cream and fresh herbs like lovage, parsley and dill. Serve with hot pickled peppers and crusty bread for a perfect cold weather meal.
Course Stovetop
Cuisine Stovetop
Keyword Stovetop
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 6servings
Calories 426kcal
Ingredients
For the soup
1yellow onionfinely diced
½leekfinely diced
3carrotsgrated or cut into small pieces
½cupparsleyfinely diced
2tablespoonscimbru *
2tablespoonssweet or smoked paprika
½teaspoonblack pepper
1tablespoontomato paste
1chicken or veg bouillon cube
1teaspoonsalt
¼teaspooncitric acid or 2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
3literswater
½tablespoonvegetable oil
2-3potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces
2tablespoonslovage **finely diced and added just before serving
2tablespoonsfresh dillfinely diced and added just before serving
2tablespoonsfresh parsleyfinely diced and added just before serving
3-4tablespoonssour cream added just before serving or on the side
For the meatballs
500gramsground porkor substitute beef, chicken or turkey
½cupshort grain rice
3tablespoonschopped parsley
1yellow onion onionvery finely diced
1egg
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspooncimbru
¼teaspoonblack pepper
Instructions
Cut and prepare all the vegetables and herbs.
Mix the meatball ingredients together in a bowl and then form the meatballs.**
Add oil to a large stockpot and saute the onion and leek on medium-high heat until translucent and just beginning to brown.
Add the rest of the vegetables, the ½ cup parsley, tomato paste, salt, dried herbs and spices.
Cover with about 2.5 liters of water and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer covered over low heat for about 30 more minutes.
After the soup has simmered covered for about 30 minutes, uncover and gently drop the meatballs into the still simmering broth. Cover and simmer another 10 minutes.
Turn off heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes.
Add the chopped fresh herbs, lemon juice or citric acid if using.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Notes
* Cimbru is summer savoury. It has a distinctive flavour. If you can't find any you can substitute the same amount of thyme (along with a small pinch of dried fenugreek if you have it).** Lovage is a staple in Romanian soups. It has an herbaceous, citrusy and earthy smell. You can sometimes find it as specialty shops where they carry Romanian goods or otherwise at some Asian markets.*** You can make the meatballs any size you like just remember the rice will inflate and make them inflate to about 1.5 times their original size. The meatballs pictured here are made with approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture each.