In the Ukrainian segment of the Google search engine, the query “how to cook soup with meatballs” yields results in Ukrainian starting only from the 4th link. Й₴ана р*сня has left its mark here too. Therefore, having reached the first link with a recipe from the famous Ukrainian chef Yevhen Klopotenko, we again decided to ignore the ready recipe decided to improvise, as always. Spoiler – it turned out veeeery tasty;)
якби була тарілка білого кольору - презентація була б ще яскравішою
According to the classic of our blog, a few sentences about the dish itself. If we believe our mini-research, meatball soup is the first course, traditional for Danish, German, and Dutch cuisine. The classic recipe includes meat broth, meatballs (balls made from minced meat) of beef, pork, or lamb, potatoes, and vegetables. Variations with the addition of buckwheat, rice, pasta, corn, or barley can often be found.
So, without further ado, let's move on to the ingredients and cooking steps
We will need
For the broth:
1 chicken quarter
1 medium onion
2.5 liters of water
1 teaspoon of salt without a heap
For the meatballs:
300 grams of chicken mince
1 chicken egg
salt to taste
½ teaspoon of khmeli-suneli
Vegetables, grains:
3-4 medium potatoes
1 small carrot
150 grams of green string beans
50 grams of rice.
Step 1: boil the broth
Thoroughly rinse the chicken quarter, removing any remnants of internal organs (usually, in the pelvic area, or whatever it's called in chickens, you can find either a kidney, a piece of liver, or some other offal. That’s what needs to be removed).
четвертинка обіймає цибулинку
Pour 2.5 liters of clean cold water into a pot. Place the prepared quarter and the peeled onion in it. You can put it whole or cut it (not completely, but rather score it) crosswise into 4 parts. This way it won’t fall apart and will look very original while boiling the broth (we won’t use it later anyway, so there’s no need to worry about it).
Bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat to the minimum, and cook for 30 minutes. If necessary, remove the foam from the pot. Then take out the chicken and onion, add salt. The broth is ready.
Step 2: add potatoes and carrots
While the broth was cooking, we peeled the potatoes and carrots and chopped them. The size of the cut can be chosen according to your preferences; there are no strict rules here. After we removed the chicken and onion from the broth, we add the vegetables and continue to cook for 20 minutes. At this same stage, we also added the rinsed rice.
овочі та рис
Step 3: make and add the meatballs
While the vegetables are cooking, let's focus on the “star ingredient” of the dish. To the chicken mince, add the egg, salt, and khmeli-suneli. Mix thoroughly and form balls with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm. Here we recommend periodically wetting your hands with water, as the mince may stick to your hands. After we have formed the balls and 20 minutes have passed since we added the potatoes and vegetables, it’s time to introduce the meatballs into the soup. After boiling, cook them for another 10-15 minutes.
фарш, яйце, сіль, хмелі-сунелі
At the end of this stage, you can adjust the flavors: add a teaspoon of khmeli-suneli, salt, and pepper – to taste.
стручкова квасоля та фрикадельки
Step 4: add the string beans
When the soup with added meatballs has been simmering on low heat for 15 minutes – it’s time to add the string beans. We used frozen ones. After boiling, it’s enough to cook for about 5 minutes. This way, the beans will remain al dente and will not lose their beneficial properties.
Turn off the stove, let it steep for another 10 minutes under a closed lid, so that all the flavors blend into a single composition.
Step 5: taste
Pour into deep plates, add a tablespoon of sour cream, and enjoy a hearty and aromatic dish ;)
