One of the perks of being eastern European is that my grandmother and mother have some amazing authentic recipes that have been passed down to me.
One of my all time favorites is the soup I am featuring in this post today: Ciorba de Perisoara (Romanian Meatball Soup).
I am truly delighted to share this favorite traditional Romanian dish with you!
Food brings people together and every time I make and eat this soup I am brought back to memories of my childhood where I am sitting at the counter in my mothers kitchen, watching her roll what seemed like 100’s of meatballs for a large pot of Ciorba de Perisoare.
As we talked a million miles an hour about anything and everything, she would finely chop each vegetable by hand so carefully and so quickly.
I used to sit there and watch her from start to finish, taste testing anything she would give me and always approving because her food truly is amazing.
The aroma of the soup would fill the house and when it was done my brothers, my sister and I would hover over the pot, impatiently waiting for our turn at a bowl of fresh, hot soup.
My mom always cooked with such love. She would spend hours in the kitchen and never complained once. I love that about her and now that I am a mom, I too am filled with the same joy when I cook something for my family and they love it.
So many wonderful childhood memories were made around that counter in my mothers kitchen and I love making memories with my own family in the same way.
- [b]For Meatballs[/b]
- 1 lb ground beef (you can also use ground pork or a combination of ½ lb ground pork ½ lb ground turkey)
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs (I substitute breadcrumbs with plain instant oatmeal – less carbs)
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp dill, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- [b]For Soup[/b]
- 8 cups chicken broth (I like to use homemade but if store bought, be sure to use low sodium)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oile
- 1 whole lemon – juiced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- Salt & pepper – to taste
- Parsley – for garnish
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven and saute onion, celery and carrots until soft and translucent.
- Add the chicken broth, tomato paste and salt and pepper. While this heats up to a boil, prepare the meatballs.
- In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients for the meatballs together and mix well.
- Shape meatballs into 1-1.5 inch diameter balls.
- Once the soup is boiling, add the meatballs to the soup one at a time.
- Cook for about 10 minutes longer or until meatballs are cooked through, they will rise to the top of the soup when they are done.
- Add the lemon and more salt and pepper if needed.
- Garnish with parsley and serve hot.
- Note: I added a little bit of quinoa to the soup when I made it this time. My kids love this soup and I thought it would add something a little different to change it up. It was really good!
So, here you have it! My mothers recipe for Romanian Meatball Soup and the best ingredient you can add is LOVE.
Enjoy, from my kitchen to yours!
