Russian Meatball Soup
Introduction
This delicious Russian meatball soup will warm your heart and soul, especially during cold weather. The meatballs are not greasy but yet soft, juicy and filling, and the broth is delicious as well. Just imagine biting into a spoonful of this soup, and tasting the flavors of the meatballs, potatoes, and delicious broth that is made with onions and tomatoes.
The reason the meatballs in this soup are not greasy is because you won’t need to pan fry them before adding them into the soup. You won’t even need to bake them. This does not mean that the meatballs will be dry and flavorless, quite the opposite, they will be fluffy and juicy because they will be able to absorb the water from the soup base. Enjoy making this soup. And feel free to create your own version of this recipe!
Recipe
Ingredients
About 500 grams or 1lb of ground beef (preferred 80% lean)
3 tablespoons of your favorite rice, washed and soaked for at least 30 minutes
1 egg
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped into small cubes (about 1 to 1.5 inches)
1 medium carrot, grated
some salt
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
pinch of ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 cloves of minced garlic
Instructions
To make the meatballs, combine all 500 grams of ground beef, about 1/2 of teaspoon of salt, pinch of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, 1 egg and rice. To make the meatballs, place some meat into your palms and roll them into a ball. Repeat until you use all the meat. I prefer to use medium sized balls, which are about 4 cm or 1.5 inches. Set the meatballs aside.
Boil approximately 2 Liters of water (or 8.5 cups). Reduce heat to low, and add meatballs slowly, one by one. After about 2-3 minutes, add potatoes and let the base simmer.
In the meantime, in a separate pan, heat up olive oil and sauté finely chopped onions. Once onions become caramelized and start to turn golden, add grated carrot and a tablespoon of tomato paste and 2 teaspoons of minced garlic. Sautéed for about 3-4 minutes. Now add butter. As soon as the butter melts, add the entire mixture to the soup. The total time for this step should be about 10-15 minutes.
Time to salt the soup. Start adding the salt pinch by pinch, and taste the soup after every time you add salt. Simmer for additional 5 minutes.
Now taste the meatballs and potatoes. By this time everything should be cooked, which required a total time of about 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat and add remaining tablespoon of chopped parsley.
Serve the soup in a bowl and mix in 1 tablespoon of sour cream. Enjoy!