Romanian Sour Meatball Soup (Ciorbă de Perișoare)

Ingredients

• 400 g minced pork or beef
• ¼ cup short-grain rice
• 1 egg
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1 tsp salt, plus 1 tsp for the pot
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped dill
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 parsley root, diced
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 8 cups water
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Chopped lovage or parsley

Method

1. Mix the mince, rice, egg, grated onion, salt, pepper and dill. Roll into walnut-sized balls with wet hands.
2. Soften the diced onion, carrots, pepper and parsley root in the oil for 8 minutes.
3. Add the water and the second tsp of salt and bring to the boil. Drop in the meatballs one by one and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Sour the soup with lemon juice to taste and finish with lovage or parsley.

Gluten-free check: Romanian cooks often sour this soup with borș, which is fermented wheat bran, so it is not gluten-free. We use lemon juice instead.