Traditional Romanian Sour Soup with vegetables

Traditional Romanian Sour Soup with vegetables

The romanian sour soup

The Romanians are all about the sour soups that they call “ciorba” and of which are strongly proud about because they can make many types of it. Usually and mostly in the countryside there is no day without a sour soup eaten either at lunch or dinner.

The dish is a stable food in the romanian diet being considered a very healthy food, full of vitamins and all of the good stuff that are nourishing our human body.

Romanians are very proud of their traditional dish and way of eating the sour soup and they consider it as an original recipe, but the sour soup is actually not a Romanian invention. The word “ciorba” is introduced in the Romanian vocabulary and cuisine by the Ottoman Empire’s military armies and by the Greeks.

The truth is that Romanians cook a variety of sour soups. Among the most common and appreciated ones are:

• the bean soup

• the meatball soup

• the beef soup

• the tripe soup

• the fish soup

• the chicken soup

• the potato soup

• the vegetable soup

and the list can go on.

Vegetarian and vegan friendly

I am vegan and as you can see most of the soups contain meat, but don’t worry, there are also some delicious soups friendly for vegetarians and vegans like the vegetables sour soup with tomatoes and plums.

There are many ways and ingredients for making a vegetable soup depending on which legumes, veggies, greens, roots are in season. I am saying this because the best sour soup is cooked with fresh local ingredients picked up from the garden.

Now, because is the end of summer and the beginning of autumn the harvest is rich in any kinds of ingredients perfect for a creamy hot soup and many more. The region I live in, more precisely on the hills of Prahova Valley, is rich in plum trees and besides the use of the fruits for making jam or alcohol, the locals are often using the plums to sour and taste different kinds of cooked dishes.

The recipe of The vegetable sour soup with plums and tomatoes

The recipe is very simple to make and does not require a lot of time, ingredients, cooking skills or instruments, that’s why I think that this kind of soup can be included in a student menu. Into the soup can be added as many or as little from the base ingredients according to each taste, preferences and possibilities.

The needed ingredients are:

• 3 onions

• 2 peppers

• 2 large carrots

• 5-6 tomatoes

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 6 small potatoes

• a hand full of fresh green parsley

• a hand full of unripe plums ( optional but highly recommended )

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 5 cups of water

• 1 teaspoon of salt

How to prepare the vegetable sour soup with plums and tomatoes

The first step is to peel of the onions and the garlicand chop it into small chunks. Do the same with the peppers, the carrots and the potatoes.

In a large pot heat up 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil or any kind of vegetable oil and add the chopped veggies into it. Cook everything together for about 10 to 15 minutes while stirring continuously alongside with the hand full of plums.

Add a little bit of water if you notice that the vegetables start to stickto the bottom of the pot. In the meantime you can cut the rest of the ingredients, the tomatoes and the persley.

When the vegetables are a bit cooked and the smell of it is delicious, you can pour in 5 cups of water. If you want the soup to be more watery, just add more water and if you wanted more creamy, add less water. When the soup starts to boil, you can put in the tomatoes and the salt.

Let the soup to boil for more then 30 minutes or until the carrots and the other vegetable are boiled. If they are soft, then the soup is ready. The last ingredient is the persley which can be added to the soup when the pot is getting out of the heat.

The vegetable sour soup with tomatoes and plums is good to be served right away but also later in the day or the next day. The taste of it is getting even more delicious after the soup has some rest. All of the natural flavours will come up and mix together into a tasty bitter sweet soup.

YAM!

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