Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Ciorbă de Perișoare
A tangy Romanian sour soup of pork-and-rice meatballs simmered with root vegetables, soured with fermented borș and finished with lovage.
Romanian · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 45 min
~286 cal · 21g protein · 16g carbs · 15g fat · 2g fiber · 5g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ciorbă is a whole category of Romanian soups, defined by a sour, tangy edge that comes from an acidic ingredient. Ciorbă de perișoare is the meatball version, and one of the most beloved, especially with children. Perișoare are small meatballs of minced pork (often mixed with beef) bound with rice and egg.
The souring is the soul of the soup. Traditionally it comes from borș, a liquid made from wheat bran, which is boiled separately and added near the end; lemon juice or sauerkraut brine are common stand-ins. The broth is built on a medley of root vegetables, carrot, parsnip, celeriac and onion, with red pepper and tomato, and the meatballs gently in it until cooked through.
The finishing herb is lovage (leuștean), whose flavour sits somewhere between celery and parsley and is characteristic of Romanian soups; celery leaves and parsley stand in when it is out of season. It is served hot, often with a dollop of sour cream and a pickled hot pepper, and tastes even better the next day.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
400 g minced pork (or pork and beef)
50 g short-grain rice
1 egg (to bind the meatballs)
1 small onion, grated (for the meatballs)
1 onion, chopped (for the soup)
2 carrots, diced
1 parsnip, diced
150 g celeriac, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tomato, chopped (or 1 tbsp tomato paste)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
400 ml borș ( wheat-bran sour)
3 tbsp fresh lovage (or celery leaves), chopped
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
for 6 smântână (sour cream), to serve
to taste salt and black pepper
Instructions
1
Mix the pork (or lentil-mushroom), rice, egg, grated onion, salt and pepper. With damp hands, roll into small walnut-sized meatballs.
2
Soften the chopped onion in the oil, then add the carrot, parsnip, celeriac and tomato and cook a few minutes. Pour in about 2 litres of water and bring to a simmer.
3
Gently drop in the meatballs and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook another 5-10 minutes until everything is tender.
4
Boil the borș separately, then stir it into the soup (or add the lemon juice). Taste and adjust: it should be pleasantly sour.
✎ Chef’s note
Boil the borș in a separate pot before adding it; this keeps the soup clear rather than cloudy.
5
Off the heat, stir in the lovage and parsley. Serve hot with a spoonful of sour cream; it is even better the next day.
Romanian sour-soup tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Transylvania. Transylvania is Carpathian shepherd country, where sheep and cow dairy shape almost everything: sour cream stirred into soups, salty telemea cheese, and mamaliga, the cornmeal polenta eaten in place of bread. Hungarian settlement left paprika and goulash-style stews, and the Saxons brought tarragon and marjoram; the stuffed cabbage rolls, sarmale, came instead from the Ottoman sarma, and the heavy hand with dill is Romanian.
🗺️
Romania. Romanian food is rustic and soulful, mămăligă (polenta), sarmale cabbage rolls, and pork in many forms, brightened by sour soups (ciorbă). Balkan, Ottoman, and Hungarian influences meet over the home hearth.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Romania
Mămăligă cu Brânză și SmântânăGolden polenta layered with salty sheep’s cheese and cool sour cream, Carpathian shepherd food, unchanged for centuries.
Omletă ȚărăneascăA rustic Romanian peasant omelette with tomato, pepper, onion, and salty telemea cheese.
MiciSkinless grilled minced-meat rolls seasoned with garlic and spice, Romania's smoky, garlicky barbecue staple.
Browse all Romania recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Rolling pin.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Romania meal
PapanașiDessert
Mămăligă cu Brânză și SmântânăDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Ciorbă de Perișoare?
A tangy Romanian sour soup of pork-and-rice meatballs simmered with root vegetables, soured with fermented borș and finished with lovage.
Where does Ciorbă de Perișoare come from?
Ciorbă de Perișoare is a Romanian dish from Transylvania, Romania.
Can Ciorbă de Perișoare be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ciorbă de Perișoare recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ciorbă de Perișoare safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ciorbă de Perișoare take to make?
About 70 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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