Today, I felt like having something warm and sour, so I decided to make ciorbă. I’ve never actually made it before, but I’ve eaten it plenty of times, and how hard could it be, right?
First, I gathered all the ingredients, I think. I didn’t have a recipe, so I just kind of winged it. I had some beef broth, some leftover beef, a bunch of veggies like carrots, celery, and onions, and of course, the most important thing, some lemons for that sour taste.
Getting Started
- I chopped up all the vegetables into small pieces. I figured smaller pieces would cook faster.
- Then I threw them into a big pot with some oil and let them cook for a bit until they softened up. I guess this is called sweating the vegetables?
- Next, I poured in the beef broth and added the leftover beef, which I also chopped up.
- I let it all simmer for a while, probably like an hour, maybe longer. I just kept tasting it until it seemed about right.
Adding the Sour
This is where it got interesting. I knew ciorbă was supposed to be sour, but I wasn’t sure how much lemon juice to add. I started with the juice of one lemon, stirred it in, and took a taste. Nope, not sour enough. Added another half a lemon. Still not quite there. Ended up using the juice of two whole lemons before it tasted right to me.
Finishing Up
After adding all that lemon, I gave it some salt and pepper, and that’s it! It was ready. I ladled some into a bowl, and honestly, it was pretty good! Not exactly like the ciorbă I’m used to, but it was definitely tasty and sour, just like I wanted. Definitely making this again, maybe next time I will look for the recipe.
