Bulgarian Meatball Soup (Pictures and Video)
When I was a child this Bulgarian meatball soup was my favorite. My mom made it very often. It is a very popular recipe in Bulgaria. There are some recipe variations depending on the region, but this blog post is about what I know and love. I’m offering you the recipe that my mom made for me and my brother when we were kids. That is the same recipe I’m making for my daughter now.
This recipe is very good for cleaning up the fridge. If you have half a pound of ground meat, a carrot, some leftover rice and a few potatoes you can make this soup. It is an excellent soup for cold weather. It can warm your body and soul.
Helpful Tips
You only need half a pound of ground meat for this recipe. So, what to do with the other half? You can make my easy taco cups. This is another recipe on my blog that calls for only half a pound of ground meat.
The Bulgarian meatball soup is easy to make. You start with slightly cooking the onion and carrot. Then you add salt and water. While you wait for the water to boil mix your ground meat mixture and form the small meatballs. The next step is to add the chopped potatoes and the angel hair pasta to the bowl. I never measure how much pasta I add. I make sure it is at least a handful.
The hardest part is tempering the egg yolk and the yogurt with some of the broth. If you dump the egg in the hot soup it will separate. You need to slowly warm it up. Add one tablespoon at a time to the egg and yogurt mixture and stir constantly. When the mixture is warm enough return it to the soup. Serve with some fresh chopped parsley.
Bulgarian Meatball Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp white rice
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil (I use sunflower oil)
- 1 cup finely chopped onion one medium sized onion
- ½ cup finely chopped carrot one medium sized carrot
- 2 medium sized russet potatoes peeled and chopped to 1 inch cubes
- ½ pound ground pork or a mixture between pork and beef
- 1 large egg separated
- 2 tsp dried summer savory oregano works too
- ¼ cup plain whole yogurt
- chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- all purpose flour for rolling the meatballs
- 1 oz dry angel hair pasta
Instructions
- Add two tablespoons of rice in a pot with ¼ cup of water and heat it to medium high. Cook until the water is gone. Set aside and allow it to cool off.
- Meanwhile, chop the onion and carrot to fine dice. Break an egg and separate the egg yolk from the egg white.
- In a bowl add the ground meat, the egg white, 1/4 cup of the chopped onion, rice, summer savory, salt and pepper. Using your hands mix the meat mixture very well.
- The egg yolk goes in a separate bowl. We going to use it when the soup is ready.
- To a soup pot add 2 Tbsp of oil and heat it to medium-high. Then add the chopped onion and carrot. Add some salt and stir. Cook the vegetables until they are slightly softer and the onion is translucent(3-5 min). Stir frequently.
- Add 8 cups (or half a gallon) of water to the soup pot with the chopped carrot and onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then bring the water to a boil.
- While you wait for the water to boil form small sized meatballs and roll them in flour. Once the water is boiling add them to the soup pot.
- Peel and cut two potatoes to small cubes (about half an inch). Add them to the pot.
- Then add the angel hair pasta by braking it to pieces.
- Continue cooking until the potatoes and the pasta are done (5-7 more minutes) and remove from the stove. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Remove the pot form the heat and allow the soup to cool of for 10 minutes.
- To the egg yolk that you saved add 1/4 cup of yogurt and stir them together. Then add a tablespoon form the soup to the yogurt mixture and stir well. Continue adding broth (one tablespoon at a time) and string until the mixture is hot. The goal is to temper the egg yolk so it doesn’t separate. When the yogurt mixture is tempered add it back to the soup and stir.
- Serve hot with chopped parsley.
