Meatball Soup Recipe or Cioarba de Perisoare

I fell asleep with my window opened listening to the pouring rain and wrapped up in my fluffy blanket. It was a chilly rainy day just perfect for soup, a hearty vegetable and meatball soup from my childhood. My mom used to make it on Sundays and when we had company, everyone just loved this soup so much that we didn’t even care for dessert. A freshly baked piece of crusty bread that crackles so beautifully when you bite into it was all we ever needed to wipe our bowls clean.

Meatball Soup or Ciorba de Perisoare

I woke up to a chilly morning and clear skies, just to get hail minutes later. Yes hail in Los Angeles… So of course I needed to make more soup, more of the same meatball soup to cuddle up with on the couch and watch movies.

Make it a whole meal by pairing it with a Tomato and Fontina Grilled Cheese Sandwich, I promise there’s nothing more comforting on a chilly rainy weekend.

Meatball Soup Recipe or Romanian Ciorba de Perisoare
( serves 8 )

• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large carrots -diced
• 1 large parsley root -diced
• 1/2 c celery root -diced
• 3 celery stalks wt leaves -diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper -diced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper -diced
• 1 medium onion -diced
• 1 X 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• juice from 1 lemon or 1 lime + more to taste
• 1/4 c celery leaves -minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt + more to taste
• 2 qt water
• 3 tbs snipped chives -optional
• sour cream for serving

Meatballs ready to be added to the soup

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 lb organic ground pork
• 1 slice bread soaked in milk and squeezed well
• 1/3 c white rice
• 1/4 c minced parsley
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper -freshly cracked
• 1/3 onion -grated
• 1 small egg
• 2 tsp ginger root -grated
• 1 pinch of nutmeg -freshly grated
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Heat up the olive oil in a large enameled cast iron pot. Add the diced onion with a pinch of sea salt and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the diced carrot, parsley root, celery root, bell peppers and celery together with the bay leaves and give it a good stir. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

2. Add the canned tomatoes and the water and bring to a slow simmer. Season with the sea salt. Allow the soup to simmer on very low flame while you prepare the meatballs.

3. To make the meatballs combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and shape them into golf ball size. Add them one by one to the soup and bring it back to a simmer before covering with a tight lid.  Allow to cook on low flame ( just gentle simmering ) for 20 minutes.
Remove from flame and without peaking inside allow it to sit for 10 minutes for the rice in the meatballs to cook completely.

4. Squeeze in the lemon or lime juice and serve with a dab of sour cream and a sprinkling of the minced celery leaves and snipped chives on top.

Tagged as: Ciorba de Perisoare, Meatball Soup Recipe