This is a special Delishnotism post, lovelies. Why is it special? Well, I'm about to give you a centuries-old family recipe for ciorba (pronounced 'chor-bah'). Ciorba is a traditional Romanian soup, and it's possibly one of the healthiest meals you could ever eat. As she ages, I'm becoming aware of how very important it is to write down as many of her recipes as possible. This is my maternal grandmother's recipe. She is a Holocaust survivor from Ştefăneşti. One of the ways she has preserved our family heritage is through food, and I intend to keep the sounds and smells of her kitchen alive.
This soup is so versatile and simple. The version featured in this post is a rather modest rendition, using about half of as many ingredients as can be included!
You will need:
Scallions (known as spring onions in the UK).
Zucchini (known as courgette in the UK).
Brussels sprouts.
A generous amount of spinach.
An even more generous amount of kale.
A couple of potatoes, de-eyed and peeled.
A handful of cherry tomatoes.
Other common ingredients to include are carrots, yellow squash, beets, and bell peppers.
You will also need a couple of lemons and five tablespoons of brown rice. Keep on hand for later.
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After cleaning and preparing the ingredients, put them all into a sizable soup pot.
Fill the pot with water, about 3/4 full.
Cover the pot and turn the flame up to medium heat.
When the water boils, add the 5 spoon-fulls of rice.
The soup should be ready after about 30 minutes. Add salt to taste, and the juice of half a lemon to each bowl right before serving. The lemon juice is essential!
It will keep well in the fridge for about 4 days, and is just as enjoyable cold as it is hot.
