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Recipe for Ciorbă de perişoare (Romanian sour soup with meatballs)
Mix well by hand:
- 2.5 lb ground pork (or ground pork and ground beef mix)
- 1 onion finely chopped
- ½ cup cooked rice
- 1 egg
- finely chopped fresh dill and parsley to your taste
- salt and pepper.
Make meatballs ca. 1 inch in diameter, roll them in flour, and set them aside. Fill about half of a 4 quart stock pot with cold water. Add to the water the following vegetables:
- 2 carrots shredded
- 1 parsley root
- ¼ celery root
- 1 onion or a few green onions
- a handful of leustean (lovage) herb, bruised (reserve for later)
When the vegetables are softened, add 1 cup of rice. After the rice is cooked, add the meatballs one by one. Let the meatballs cook through then add 1 chopped tomato, 1 chopped green pepper, parsley, and celery leaves.
Sour with fresh lemon juice to taste - start with the juice of one lemon (or brine from sauerkraut or a mixture of both). Add lovage herb. Simmer for 5 minutes.
These soups are meant to be reheated and taste better with age.
The sour soups are traditionally soured with borş, a liquid made out of wheat bran mixed with water and left to ferment. They are sometimes soured with sauerkraut juice. The soups may be traditionally thickened with a mixture of sour cream and/or egg yolks.
Recipe for Ciorbă de pui (Romanian chicken soup)
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken or 4 chicken quarters (enough for the whole family) - use chicken with bones because the taste is much better. If you add chicken liver it will also taste better 2 Big carrots 1 Large onion 3 or 4 long sticks of celery 1 liter of sauerkraut juice (green cans of Frank's Kraut Juice) 1 liter of chicken broth (Campbell or you can make your own sodium-free broth if you wish) 3 spoons of rice 1 small can of tomato paste 1 or 2 eggs
Preparation:
Chop the onion and one carrot in small pieces. Also cut the celery in bite-size pieces. Cut one carrot in larger pieces
Take a large pot and put a small amount of olive oil in it and on medium to high heat caramelize the onion and the one chopped carrot. Be careful not to burn the onion, just brown it until crispy.
When the onion and carrot looks caramelized with high-heat on put half of the sauerkraut juice and half of the chicken broth in the pot. Wait until it starts boiling then add the remaining carrot, celery and 3 spoons of rice. Add the chicken (cut in small pieces) 3 or 4 cups of water and again wait until it starts boiling -- for detailed instructions on how to cut up a chicken, go to GormetSleuth.com. Turn the heat down to medium and as it boils for 15 minutes scoop out the foam (and fat if you want) that will come up to the surface from the chicken meat. After you dispose of all the foam, add the remaining sauerkraut juice and chicken broth. Let it come to a boil again and add water to fill up your pot.
Add salt to make it taste right and let it boil for another 30 minutes or so. The whole thing should boil at least an hour to make sure everything is done well. When the time is almost up, add the entire can of the tomato paste. When you are done, turn off the heat and break the eggs directly into the boiling soup. Cover and let it cool down for a few minutes before serving with fresh bread.
You can always add more sauerkraut juice or broth if your family is bigger. Expect to spend between $15 and $20 for supplies, and about one hour of your time to prepare. You may also add a large potato cut-up in small cubes if you wish but that makes the soup "un-Romanian" in some people's opinions.
Recipe Notes
Something made in the USA that is similar to borş: Rejuvelac [1]
Real borş, a description, at the bottom of this page: [2]
Lovage may be found in food co-ops, your garden, or health food stores. You may have to buy a potted plant of it. Celery leaves, seeds and roots are a poor, but acceptable substitute for the flavor. Lovage tastes like extremely pungent celery.
A few comments about the Romanian chicken soup:
- The use of chicken broth is pointless, and water should be use instead. This is because when you boil the chicken with the vegetables, you subsequently get broth.
- The rice should be added later, 20 minutes before you turn off the stove, as it will overcook it you put it in at the beginning. Most times the meat is allowed to boil completely and then the “soft” ingredients (like the rice) are added.
- The eggs must be beaten before adding them to the soup. Do not just “break them in”, as you will get boiled eggs. The idea is to beat the eggs, then pour them slowly into the hot soup while mixing them together to get a fine texture.
External links
A recipe for Ciorbă which uses bacon [3]
A pigweed (atriplex hortensis) soup recipe common during easter fast and spring
