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Moldovan

Zeamă

Non-vegetarian

Moldova's signature soup: chicken simmered with vegetables and homemade noodles, soured with borș or lemon and finished with lovage or dill. Famous as a restorative after a celebration.

Zeamă is a Moldovan soup, ready in about 1 hour 50 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on, egg noodles and lemon juice. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h 30 min
Total
1 h 50 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
353

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the chicken in the cold water, bring to a simmer and skim. Cook gently until the meat is tender.

  2. Step 2

    Lightly fry the onion (opens in a new tab), carrots (opens in a new tab), parsnip (opens in a new tab) and pepper (opens in a new tab) in the oil for 5 minutes, then add to the broth with the salt and pepper. Simmer until soft.

    • 15 min
    • medium-low heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Lift out the chicken, pull the meat from the bones and return it to the pot. Add the noodles and simmer until just tender.

    • 8 min
    • medium heat

    Food safety: Chicken must be cooked through to 74 °C.

  4. Step 4

    Sour the soup with lemon juice (opens in a new tab) (or borș) to taste, bring back to a bare simmer and stir in the herbs. Serve with sour cream (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) sauce on the side.

    • 3 min
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Moldova · Well documentedMore food from Moldova
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered, Boiled
Taste
sour, savoury, herby
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein · Low-fat · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Egg noodles · Lemon juice · Onion · Carrot · Parsnip
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom sour cream
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg noodles
  • Contains: Wheatfrom egg noodles
  • Contains: Glutenfrom egg noodles

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

353 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 629 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 24%
  • Carbohydrate 31%
  • Fat 44%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy353 kcal56 kcal
Protein21.5 g3.4 g
Carbohydrate27.5 g4.4 g
Net carbohydrate24.2 g3.8 g
Sugars4.3 g0.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.3 g0.5 g
Fat17.4 g2.8 g
Saturated fat4.5 g0.7 g
Trans fat0.1 g0 g
Cholesterol90 mg14 mg
Sodium873 mg139 mg
Salt equivalent2.2 g0.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
471 mg
Calcium
85 mg
Iron
2.3 mg
Magnesium
56 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
247 µg
Vitamin C
39 mg
Vitamin D
0.3 µg
Vitamin B12
0.4 µg
Folate (DFE)
133 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, garlic.
  • “—” 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

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days chilled; the noodles soften over time.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently and freshen with herbs.

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

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. 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

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

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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