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Romanian

Ciorbă de perișoare

Non-vegetarian

A tangy Romanian vegetable soup with small pork-and-rice meatballs, soured with borș or lemon and finished with lots of lovage or dill. A Sunday-lunch favourite.

Ciorbă de perișoare is a Romanian soup, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with ground pork and lemon juice. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Bowl of sour Romanian meatball soup with vegetables and herbs
Photo: Sacha47 / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
30 min
Cook
50 min
Total
1 h 20 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
332

Ingredients

6 servings

For the meatballs

For the soup

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Bring the water to the boil with the onion (opens in a new tab), carrots (opens in a new tab), parsnip (opens in a new tab) and celeriac (opens in a new tab) and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the pepper (opens in a new tab) and passata.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile mix the pork, rice, egg (opens in a new tab), grated onion (opens in a new tab), dill (opens in a new tab), salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) and roll into small balls about 3 cm across with wet hands.

    • 15 min

  3. Step 3

    Drop the meatballs into the gently simmering soup one by one. Simmer without stirring hard until they float and the rice inside is tender.

    • 25 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Cut one open: the meat should be cooked through and the rice soft.

  4. Step 4

    Add the salt and lemon juice (opens in a new tab) (or borș) and bring just back to the boil. Take off the heat and stir in the parsley (opens in a new tab) and lovage (opens in a new tab).

    • 3 min

  5. Step 5

    Serve with sour cream (opens in a new tab) and, traditionally, a fresh hot chilli to bite on.

      A finished dish being plated
      How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Romania · Well documentedAlso popular in MoldovaMore food from Romania
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Main courses
    Cooking method
    Simmered, Boiled
    Taste
    sour, herby, savoury
    Diet
    No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
    All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
    Without the optional extras: Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    One-pot · Make-ahead · Everyday
    Cook more with
    Ground pork · Lemon juice · Long-grain white rice · Egg · Onion · Dill
    Techniques
    Boiling · Simmering

    Allergens

    • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom sour cream
    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains: Celeryfrom celeriac

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    332 kcal per serving

    Estimated

    1 serving ≈ 591 g · recipe makes 6

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 21%
    • Carbohydrate 28%
    • Fat 51%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy332 kcal56 kcal
    Protein17.7 g3 g
    Carbohydrate23.2 g3.9 g
    Net carbohydrate19.5 g3.3 g
    Sugars——
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre3.7 g0.6 g
    Fat18.9 g3.2 g
    Saturated fat6.9 g1.2 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol91 mg15 mg
    Sodium888 mg150 mg
    Salt equivalent2.2 g0.4 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    720 mg
    Calcium
    94 mg
    Iron
    2.6 mg
    Magnesium
    53 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    234 µg
    Vitamin C
    46 mg
    Vitamin D
    —
    Vitamin B12
    0.7 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    91 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: sour cream.
    • Lovage: Fresh parsley used as a stand-in for this similar leafy herb.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Keep the soup at a gentle simmer so the meatballs don't break apart.

    Storage

    • Keeps 3 days chilled.

    Reheating

    • Reheat gently; add fresh herbs again.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    For the meatballs

    Used in steps 1, 2, 4, 5

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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