Ingredients
Meatballs
- 400 gminced pork and beef
- 60 grice, uncooked
- 1onion, grated
- 1egg
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tspblack pepper
- chopped parsley and dill
Soup
- 2 litreswater or stock
- 1onion, diced
- 2carrots, diced
- 1parsnip, diced
- ½celeriac, diced
- 1red pepper, diced
- 2tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbspoil
To sour
- 500 mlborș, or the juice of 2 lemons
To finish
- 1large bunch lovage
- sour cream
- hot peppers
Directions
- Mix the meat with the raw rice, grated onion, egg, salt, pepper and chopped herbs, and roll it into small balls about the size of a walnut. Soften the diced onion, carrot, parsnip and celeriac in the oil for 10 minutes, then add the water and bring it to the boil.
- Drop the meatballs in one at a time and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes. Do not stir for the first five minutes.
- Add the diced pepper and the tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Bring the borș to the boil separately in its own pan, then pour it into the soup. Boiling the borș separately first is standard Romanian practice, partly for safety and partly because adding it cold dulls the whole pot.
- Take the soup off the heat and stir in a large handful of chopped lovage.
- Season, and serve with sour cream and hot peppers on the side.
Technique
- Borș is a liquid fermented from wheat bran and is sold bottled throughout Romania. Buy it rather than making it.
- Lemon juice is the usual substitute abroad and it is a real compromise: it gives acidity without the soft, slightly bready sourness of borș.
- The soup should be sour enough to make you blink. Romanian ciorbă is defined by that.
Substitutions
- Lemon juice or sauerkraut brine in place of borș.
- Celery leaf plus a little parsley for lovage, accepting it is not the same.
Variations
- Made with chicken mince for a lighter soup.
- With more vegetables and no meat at all, soured the same way.
- Finished with a beaten egg and cream, which some households do.
History
Romanian sour soups take their acidity from borș, a liquid fermented from wheat bran, and their scent from lovage.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ciorbă de perișoare?
Ciorbă de perișoare is a soup & stew from Romania: meatball soup soured with fermented bran, finished with lovage. Romanian sour soups take their acidity from borș, a liquid fermented from wheat bran, and their scent from lovage.
How long does Ciorbă de perișoare take to make?
Ciorbă de perișoare takes 30 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Ciorbă de perișoare?
Yes, within limits. Lemon juice or sauerkraut brine in place of borș. Celery leaf plus a little parsley for lovage, accepting it is not the same.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ciorbă de perișoare?
Drop the meatballs in one at a time and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes. Do not stir for the first five minutes.
