Go Back
–+ servings
Two bowls of sour pork meatball soup with vegetables.

Sour Pork Meatball Soup With Vegetables

AndreeaB
This sour pork meatball soup is a hearty one-pot meal with tender pork, rice, and veggies in a tangy lemon broth — cozy and protein-packed.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Eastern European
Servings 6 servings
Calories 345 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 large stockpot

Ingredients
  

For the meatballs

  • 2.2 lbs ground pork (I used 5% fat) 1 kg
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup short grain rice 190g
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp dried ground onion
  • a handful chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dry parsley)
  • salt and pepper to taste (I used 2 tsps salt and ½ tsp pepper for reference)

For the soup

  • 10 cups stock or broth of your choice (I used chicken and vegetable stock) 2.5l
  • 1 large yellow onion (chopped) about 135g
  • 3 large carrots (chopped) about 170g
  • celeriac root (or rutabaga) (chopped) about 35g
  • ½ large red bell pepper (chopped) about 75g
  • ⅓ large zucchini (chopped) about 100g
  • juice from one lemon (optional)
  • a handfull chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsps dry parsley)
  • a handfull chopped fresh lovage (or 1 tsp dry lovage) or dill (for Greek style) optional
  • parsnip (chopped) about 30g
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Peel, wash, and chop all the vegetables.
  • In a large stockpot, bring the stock or broth you are using to a boil.
    10 cups stock or broth of your choice (I used chicken and vegetable stock)
  • Add the chopped onion, carrots, celeriac, and parsnip.
    1 large yellow onion (chopped), 3 large carrots (chopped), celeriac root (or rutabaga) (chopped), parsnip (chopped)
  • After the root vegetables have boiled for 5 minutes, add the chopped bell pepper and then zucchini.
    ½ large red bell pepper (chopped), ⅓ large zucchini (chopped)
  • While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the meatballs.
  • In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the meatballs. Use your hands to make sure the mixture is homogenized.
    2.2 lbs ground pork (I used 5% fat), 1 large egg, 1 cup short grain rice, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tbsp dried ground onion, a handful chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dry parsley), salt and pepper to taste (I used 2 tsps salt and ½ tsp pepper for reference)
  • Shape the meatballs into small balls with the palms of your hands.
  • Make sure the meatballs are similar in size, so they can cook evenly. I made 44 meatballs weighing about 35g-40g.
  • After about 30 minutes of boiling the vegetables, add the meatballs into the soup one by one.
  • Boil the soup for another 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the vegetables are soft.
  • Add salt to taste, lemon juice, and freshly chopped herbs (or dry) and let it cook for 2 more minutes.
    juice from one lemon (optional), a handfull chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsps dry parsley), a handfull chopped fresh lovage (or 1 tsp dry lovage) or dill (for Greek style), salt to taste
  • Turn the heat off and taste for seasoning. Let the soup rest for a few minutes and then serve.

Notes

Substitutions:
  • use any vegetables you want or what is in season (do keep the onion).
  • replace the ground pork with ground chicken or ground turkey
  • you can skip the lemon juice if you don't want it to be sour
  • the addition of lovage gives it a unique Eastern European flavor, but you can skip it or use dill instead for a Greek style soup.
Serve it with greek yogurt or sour cream (optional) and warm homemade bread.
Store it in the fridge 3-5 days or freeze it for up to a month.

Nutrition

Serving: 650gCalories: 345kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 30gFat: 13g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!