Romanian Meatball Ciorbă

Ciorbă is a category of Romanian soups that can feature just about any type of meats and/or vegetables, but always has a tart, tangy flavor from an acidic ingredient, such as fermented wheat bran or vinegar.

This meatball ciorbă was prepared for us by Anca Vlad, at Gastro Local in Transylvania. His started with a sofrito, plus tomato paste, which gave it a bright red hue. The meatballs, which are held together with long grain rice, breadcrumbs, and egg, and seasoned with parsley and dill, cooked in the soup.

The slightly sour notes were barely noticeable, and pleasantly cut through the richness of the dish.

For the acidity and tang, we added a little cider vinegar and serve with sour cream.