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Whole30 Romanian Meatball Soup Ciorba de Perisoare Paleo Primal Gourmet Easy Recipe
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5 from 1 vote

Whole30 Romanian Meatball Soup - Ciorba de Perisoare

Course: Main Dish, Soup
Cuisine: Romanian
Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs ground lamb (substitute ground beef, pork, or a combination of the two) – preferably grass-fed
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 3 medium carrots diced
  • 5-6 cloves garlic finely sliced
  • 6-7 yellow-fleshed potatoes peeled and diced
  • 1 tomato diced
  • 2 large eggs preferably free-range, organic
  • 1.5 cups fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp dried lovage if available
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice or more, as necessary
  • kosher salt
  • freshly-cracked black pepper

Instructions

  • Pat ground lamb dry with paper towel.
  • To a large mixing bowl, add lamb, eggs, ½ cup parsley, 2 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Using your hands, mix until just combined. Avoid over-mixing the meat or it will toughen. Form mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs and lay on a tray or sheet pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment. Tips: use an ice cream scoop to achieve equal size meatballs; wet your hands slightly to prevent the meat from sticking to your skin.
  • Fill a 4qt stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrot, potato and bay leaves. Season with 1 tbsp kosher salt and 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook until potatoes are slightly fork tender (approximately 18-20min)
  • Add meatballs one at a time and boil until meat is cooked through (approximately 18-20min), skimming any foam that rises to the surface.
  • Add tomato, parsley, dried lovage and lemon juice and cook additional 5-6 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt, pepper and acid as necessary. Typically a generous amount of salt is required.
  • Serve in a bowl with raw, spicy pepper of choice.