This soup is sure to warm up any cold winter's day.
This is one of my favourite soups, known in Romanian as ciorba de vacuta. Ciorba is a sour soup and, depending on the region, it is soured with borscht, white vinegar, lemon or sauerkraut juice. You can make this one vegetarian by skipping the meat and adding more potatoes instead. If you can’t find lovage, no worries! I rarely find it in Malaysia, where I live now. I skip it or use fresh flat leaf parsley instead, which is very common in Romanian cuisine.
Enjoy!
romanian beef soup
Ingredients
Beef - 1 kg, cut into cubes
Onion - a big one, finely chopped
Carrots -150g, diced
Celeriac - 150g, diced
Potatoes - 400g, cut into small cubes
Cabbage - 200g, chopped into squares
Red bell pepper - 100g, diced
Green peas (frozen or canned) - 200g
Chopped tomatoes - 1 can of 440g
Fresh celery leaves - 4 tbsp, finely chopped or 2 tbsp dried leaves, if you don’t have fresh
Fresh lovage leaves - 4 tbsp, finely chopped or 2 tbsp dried leaves, if you don’t have fresh (or substitute flat leaf parsely)
White vinegar - 2-4 tbsp, according to your taste
To serve: sour cream, fresh green chilli and some homemade white bread
Method
Boil the beef on a lower heat in 5L of water with 1 tbsp salt. Let it simmer gently and do not stir. Foam will form on the surface - keep an eye on the pot at the beginning and skim the foam occasionally.
After 2-3 hours or when the beef is almost cooked (check with a fork), add the onions, carrots, celeriac, cabbage and potatoes.
After 10 minutes add cauliflower and frozen green peas*, bell pepper, canned tomatoes and vinegar.
Leave to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked
*If you use canned green peas, add them 2-3 minutes before finishing the soup.
Tips & cheats
this soup tastes best with some fresh, homemade white bread - check out my recipe here!
If you can't find lovage, skip it or substitute flat leaf parsley instead.
In a vegetarian mood? Simply skip the beef and add extra potatoes instead. Remember to skip the 2-3 hour cooking time that applies to the beef.
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