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Meatball Soup

Name: Meatball Soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 250 g Minced pork; 250 g Coarsely minced beef; 2 medium Onion; 1 large Eggs; 500 g Potatoes; 1 medium Carrot; 50 g Long-grain rice; 2 leaves Bay leaves; 10 g Fresh dill; 10 g Flat-leaf parsley; 2 tsp Fine sea salt; 1 tsp Ground black pepper; 2 tbsp Sunflower oil; 2 l Water

A light, clear Ukrainian home soup of tender pork-and-beef meatballs, potatoes, carrot and rice, finished with fresh dill and parsley.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 35 min
Difficulty: Very easy

About this dish

Meatball soup is the everyday soup of Ukrainian and Eastern European kitchens, a way to make a little mince feed a whole family. The meatballs poach in the broth and flavour it as they cook, so there is no stock to make beforehand. Rice goes in the soup rather than the meatballs, which keeps them tender and the broth lightly thickened.

Gluten-free
Lactose-free
Not vegetarian because of Minced pork, Coarsely minced beef

Ingredients

4servings

250gMinced pork
250gCoarsely minced beef
2mediumOnion
1largeEggs
500gPotatoes
1mediumCarrot
50gLong-grain rice
2leavesBay leaves
10gFresh dill
10gFlat-leaf parsley
2tspFine sea salt
1tspGround black pepper
2tbspSunflower oil
2lWater

Instructions

Mix both minces with half of one grated onion, the egg, 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper, and shape into walnut-sized balls.
15 min
Tip: Wet your hands to roll them. Small, even balls cook through at the same pace and never turn out dry.
Bring the water to a boil with the bay leaves and 1 teaspoon of salt, then add the potatoes cut into cubes and cook for 10 minutes.
10 min
Tip: Start the potatoes in boiling water so the outsides firm up and they do not dissolve into the broth.
Chop the remaining onion and grate the carrot, then fry both in the oil for 6 minutes until soft and golden.
6 min
Tip: Do not brown them hard. A soft, sweet fry gives the broth colour without bitterness.
Lower the meatballs gently into the pot, add the rice and the fried onion and carrot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
20 min
Tip: Keep the simmer gentle and skip stirring for the first few minutes, so the meatballs set before they are moved.
Stir in the chopped dill and parsley, check the salt, and leave to rest for 3 minutes before serving.
3 min
Tip: Fresh herbs go in at the very end. Heat dulls them within minutes.