← Nouns Cooking · Soup Pot

Ingredients

• 500 g Minced pork
• 60 g long-grain rice, rinsed
• 1 Onion, grated
• 1 Eggs
• 2 tbsp Dill, chopped
• 2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2 Carrot, diced
• 2 celery sticks (or a slice of celeriac), diced
• 1 Bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 1 l chicken stock
• 1 l Water
• 4 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped lovage or dill, to finish
• 150 ml soured cream, to serve (optional)
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Mix the pork mince, rice, grated onion, egg and the 2 tbsp each of dill and parsley with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. With wet hands, roll into walnut-size balls and keep them on a plate.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, carrots, celery and pepper for 8 min, until softened. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute.
3. Pour in the stock and water and bring to a boil.
4. Lower the meatballs in one at a time, bring back to a gentle simmer and cook for 25 min, until the rice inside is tender and the meatballs are cooked through (71°C/160°F). Keep it at a simmer, not a boil, so they hold together.
5. Add the lemon juice a spoonful at a time until the soup is pleasantly sour, then season with salt and pepper.
6. Stir in the lovage or dill and serve with a spoonful of soured cream and a fresh chilli on the side, as Romanians do.

Tips

• In Romania the soup is soured with borș (fermented bran); lemon juice is the easy substitute.
• The soured cream is optional; leave it off to keep the soup dairy-free. Check the stock is gluten-free if you need it to be.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

e-Retete Jo Cooks