Bulgarian Soups Part II

For the ones that love to eat soup, I highly recommend tasting these Bulgarian soups: Lentils soup, Meatballs soup( Supa Topcheta) and Hen Soup.

They are my favorite and my mum is always obliged to prepare one of them for our family gatherings. 😉

Meatballs soup

Meatballs soup is called Supa Topcheta (Супа топчета) in Bulgaria. It is very simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (beef or pork)
6 tbsp rice
2 tbsp flour
6 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 bunch scallions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, minced
1 egg
1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp dried savory
Salt and pepper
Lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Combine the ground meat, rice, paprika, savory, salt and pepper and mix well. Form the mixture into one-inch balls, rolling each one in flour.
2. In a pot, combine water, bouillon cubes, scallions, the bell pepper, carrots and tomatoes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add the meatballs, cover the pot and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add parsley during last 5 minutes of cooking.
4. When done, whisk the egg with the lemon juice and add to the soup, stir well.
Serve warm.

2. Hen Soup or Chicken Soup

1 lb hen meat and offal
1 onion
1 carrot
1 red pepper
1/4 cup rice
1 lemon
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Preparation:

1. Clean the meat and offal and cut into small pieces.
2. Put in a larger pot, add water and boil on high until water starts boiling. Be careful that the soup doesn’t foam over.
3. Add the finely chopped onions, carrot, red pepper, salt, and pepper and boil on medium for another 10 minutes.
4. Check that the meat is almost done and add the rice.
5. Boil for another 15 minutes.
6. Add the lemon juice before serving. Season with savory and tarragon for additional flavor.
Serve warm.

3. Lentils soup

1 cup lentils
1 onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 can tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp chubritsa (savory) or oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp corn flour or flour mixed with a little water
2 celery stalks, cut into small pieces(optional)

Preparation:

1. Boil the lentils slightly salted water for about 20-25 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, sauté the onions, carrots and celery for about 5 minutes and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the cooked and drained lentils, the tomatoes and the garlic to the pan and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the corn flour to thicken the dish, season with salt, pepper and chubritsa.
Serve warm or cold.
Suggestion: This goes wonderful with any sausages you may have – serve separately or add the sausages at the last step and cook with the lentils.

Me in particular enjoy to eat lentils soup with white Bulgarian type of cheese, dry shpek salami and garlic. It is perfect combination for my taste.