Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorba de Perisoare)

Ingredients:

Meatballs
• 1 lb of ground meat (you can use chicken, pork, turkey, beef, whatever you prefer, you may even combine meat, such as beef and pork)
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of long grain rice
• 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
• parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
Soup
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 carrots grated, or cut in very small pieces
• 2 stalks of celery cut in very small pieces
• 2 tbsp of tomato paste or 1 cup of tomato juice
• juice of one lemon
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten
• parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. To start this off it’s very simple. Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs and start forming small meatballs about 1 inch in diameter, or even smaller, depends on how much patience you have. The smaller they are the cuter they look.
2. In a big pot, heat the oil and then add the vegetables and fry until the onion is clear.
3. Add about 8 to 10 cups of water, you may even add beef or chicken broth to this, depending on the meat you’re using. Wait for the soup to start boiling, then add the meatballs one at a time.
4. Keep boiling, when the meatballs are done, they will rise to the top, add the the tomato juice or paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper and let the soup simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes. Very slowly pour in the eggs in a steady stream. To make shreds, stir the egg rapidly in a clockwise direction for one minute.
5. When the soup is done, add the parsley. Serve this hot with a bit of sour cream.

http://www.jocooks.com/soups/romanian-meatball-soup-ciorba-de-perisoare/