Greek Meatball Soup (Yiouvarlakia)

Hello foodie friends,

It is very cold here and soups were on my mind,  So, I went with this Greek Meatball Soup (Yiouvarlakia), the traditional and ultimate bowl of comfort food for everyone else, and for me, a vegetable soup.  It is made with rice, vegetables, ground beef, and an egg-lemon sauce. As always, there are many versions; this time, mine is without the egg-lemon sauce. This soup is made during the cold days of winter to give your body warmth and a sense of coziness.

Boiling the meatballs, yes we must boil the meatballs to get this soup going.  Does this sound a bit odd? It may or may not but believe me once you understand the recipe you will come to love it.  I started by washing the rice and setting it aside for a few minutes then I drained the excess water.  I use arborio rice, (risotto rice) but you can also use short-grain rice, I prefer this rice because it just seems to boil faster than the short-grain rice I’ve used.  But remember this is my opinion.

Ok, so this Greek Meatball Soup also has a delicious egg-lemon sauce which as I mentioned did not prepare this time.  The egg-lemon sauce is sometimes quite difficult to get it just right.  I tried it many times until I finally nailed it 🙂 and it wasn’t easy. The result has to do with the temperature of the water you will be pouring into the whisked eggs.  What I’m trying to say is that the hotter the water/broth that you’ve boiled the more likely the egg-lemon sauce won’t succeed.  So, after many years of practice, I have finally narrowed it down.  I set the soup aside to cool off only for a bit before starting the sauce.  This way my eggs don’t turn into an omelet when I am pouring in the broth.  It’s a tricky little sauce but you get the hang of it after a while.

Ok, so this Greek Meatball Soup known in Greek as Yiouvarlakia is a hearty bowl of deliciousness full of fresh Mediterranean flavors which I am sure those of you who love meatballs will enjoy.

Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening everyone!

Greek Meatball Soup (Yiouvarlakia)

foodzesty

Ground beef with rice, cubed potatoes, and carrots in a hearty bowl of soup for those cold days of winter.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Greek

Servings 5 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 lbs ground beef lean
• 1 onion red or yellow grated
• 1 egg large
• 1 carrot ½ grated - ½ cubed into small pieces
• 1 potato cubed in small pieces
• ¼ cup arborio rice or short grain rice
• ¼ cup olive oil plus 3. tbsp for saute
• 3 tbsp dill fresh finely chopped
• 3 tbsp parsley fresh finely chopped
• salt
• pepper
• 1 ½ liters vegetable broth

Instructions

 

• Place in a large bowl combine the ground beef, grated carrot, dill, parsley, egg, and rice. Use your hands to knead the mix. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to knead for a few more minutes.
• In the meantime, in a large pot on medium heat saute with two tbsp of olive oil the potatoes, and carrots for two to four minutes. Add in the vegetable broth and let it boil for 10 minutes.
• Form the mixture into small or medium-sized meatballs and place one by one into the pot.
• The vegetable broth should cover the meatballs. Pour in the olive oil
• Boil for 30 minutes until meatballs are tender. Serve hot.

Keyword meatballs, soups

KALI SAS OREXI!!! 🙂