Turkey Meatball Soup

4.41 from 10 votes

Romanian-Style Turkey Meatball Soup with vegetables, a comforting and hearty soup that goes down well with the whole family no matter the season. Our "ciorba de perisoare" is very easy to make with a few simple ingredients, and it's budget-friendly too.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Romanian

Servings: people

Calories: 323kcal

Author: Daniela Apostol

Ingredients

1 large onion
1 carrot
2 celery stalks
½ red bell pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon salt and pepper
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
4 cups chicken stock

For the meatballs

500 g mince turkey 1.1 lb
1 small egg
½ small onion
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To make the soup, peel and chop the onion, carrot, celery stalks and red pepper.
Add the stock to a large pot, and cook the vegetables for 15 minutes until they start to soften.
To make the meatballs, add the mince turkey to a bowl together with the egg, finely chopped onion, salt and pepper.
Mix well to get a nice paste.
Use your hands to shape meatballs, then carefully drop them into the soup.
Cook for a further 15 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through, then add the tomato paste, season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with fresh parsley.

Video

Notes

Do not add the meatballs straight from the beginning, as the carrots and onion take a lot longer to cook. I prefer cooking the vegetables first, then adding the meatballs to the soup.
The meatball mixture might look a bit sloppy, but that's fine, the meatballs are juicy and they keep their shape very well - the egg is a great binding agent.

Nutrition