Romania is a country with an old culinary tradition and ciorba de perisoare or meatball soup, from Romania is popular. Everywhere you stop to eat you find fresh, delicious foods. Romanians like to cook and they consider learning to cook well an important skill. Each family has their own ‘secret’ recipes which they pass down from generation to generation.
Over the centuries, traditional Romanian dishes have been influenced by the neighboring cultures, such as Hungarian, German, Greek, or Slavic. But despite these influences, Romanian cuisine has kept unaltered the taste of its traditional dishes.
One of my favorite Romanian dishes is “ciorba de perisoare” (sour soup with meatballs). The soup is made with “borsh” – a sour juice made from fermented wheat bran. There is something very special about the real taste of “borsh,” so this ingredient is very important. However, if you don’t have it, you can use lemon juice instead.
Here is the recipe for ciorba de perisoare or meatball soup
Meatballs for ciorba de perisoare
- 300 g minced meat (you can use any minced meat)
- 75 g rice
- 1 egg,
- ¼ chopped onion
- 1 spoon finely chopped parsley
To make the meatballs, mix together all the ingredients. Then take a little of this mixture at a time in slightly damp hands (so as not to be sticky) and make little balls.
Broth for ciorba de perisoare or meatball soup
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
- ¼ celery root, finely chopped
- 1 parsley root, finely chopped
- 200 ml borss or lemon juice to taste
- 3 l of water
- 3 cubes of beef stock
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tea spoon of green baby dill
- 1 tea spoon of green parsley
For the broth, sauté the onion slightly, then add the chopped vegetables, and leave for 5 minutes. Add the water and leave to boil for 20 minutes. Bring the soup to a simmer and add the meatballs and the beef stock. Let it simmer for about 40 minutes while turning around the meatballs. Towards the end add about 0.5 l of water, the tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste and the “borsh” or lemon juice. Boil it for another 10 minutes, then add the baby dill and green parsley.
by Travel Notes and Beyond
Making ciorba de perisoare or meatball soup from Romania will be an excellent addition to any meal.
ciorba de perisoare or meatball soup, from Romania
