Romanian Lamb Soup with Lovage
Easter Recipes Lamb Romanian Soups and Stews
Light rustic sour soup. I grated the root vegetables and roughly chopped the rest to make everything quick, perfect for a midweek meal. This soup was an excuse to use the lovage from my potted plant and some ribs attached to a fresh lamb leg.
Ingredients
1 kg lamb/mutton bones (I used the ribs attached to a leg and the upper part of the leg so there's some meat in the soup; if you want more meat, you can add a piece of lean meat to the kilogram of bones)
1 large carrot
1 medium onion
1 generous slice of celery root
1 parsley root
1 stalk celery leaves
1/2 red bell pepper (kapia)
1 medium ripe tomato
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
2 tablespoons vinegar from pickled hot peppers
lemon juice to taste
4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons rice
4 generous sprigs of lovage
salt
Servings: 7
How to prepare romanian lamb soup with lovage
- Wash the meat in cold water, then cover with boiling water and let it sit for 10 minutes. I only do this blanching step with lamb meat because it mellows the flavor - some of us can't stand the too-intense smell and taste of lamb. If you don't have this problem, you can skip this step.
- Put the bones in a large pot and cover with 3 liters of cold water. Bring slowly to a boil (over medium-low heat). When it starts to boil (takes about 20-30 minutes), reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer. During this time, foam will form on top - skim off that foam with a slotted spoon or a regular spoon. This step will take about another 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil and add the grated vegetables (carrot, celery root, parsley root) and finely chopped onion. Saute until very soft (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally, but don't let them brown. When done, add the bell pepper cut into cubes and the tomato (scored with an X, blanched in the bone broth for a few seconds, and peeled) cut into cubes. Stir for 1 minute, then remove from heat and set aside until needed.
- When you see the broth is no longer forming foam, add the sauteed vegetables (all the contents of the skillet) and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the celery leaves and peppercorns. Continue to simmer over low heat (the soup should just gently bubble) until the meat is well cooked (check with a fork - when the meat comes off the bones easily, it's done; this took another hour for me). Wipe the edge of the pot (the foam lines left on the sides) with a paper towel.
- Remove the meat from the soup and let it cool. Add the rice to the soup and let it cook until done (maximum 10 minutes).
- Pull all the meat off the bones (using your hands and a fork, whichever is easier). Add the meat pieces back into the soup.
- Sour the soup with the hot pepper pickling vinegar. If you want it more sour, you can gradually add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice at a time until it's to your taste (I added 1 more tablespoon of lemon juice). Add more salt if needed (I added another 1/2 teaspoon).
- Turn off the heat and add the roughly chopped lovage.
The bones are boiling, foam starts to form
Add the vegetables
The soup is ready!
