I learned to make this meatball soup recipe here in Romania, maybe there are some things which I improvised, but not many. It would be perfect to cook the soup with meat/bone stock, but, if you don't have time to boil it, it can be replaced with water. Of course, the taste will be different, test both variants of meatball soup and see.
Wash, peel vegetables - onions, carrots, peppers, celery, parsnip.
Cook the bone broth - in a pot, place the bones, half the celery, parsnip, carrot, onion, pepper - all whole. When it comes to the boil, skim off the foam, turn heat to low and cook for 2-3 hours.
Thinly cut 1 onion and the peppers and place in a 5 liter pot.
Add the finely chopped celery.
Do the same with the carrot. I improvised a bit and added some leek too.
In a frying pan, sauté a diced onion, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the onion and tomato mixture to the pot, pour over 2-3 liters of water (in order for the meatball soup to be even more delicious, it would be good to pour the bone stock) and bring to the boil.
When it starts to boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
In a plate, mix the minced meat with the boiled rice, egg, salt and black pepper. You can also add your favorite greens. Mix well (best mix with your hands :)
Form small, medium-sized balls from this mixture and arrange them on a plate or cutting board sprinkled with water.
When the vegetables have been boiling for 30 minutes, drop the meatballs carefully in the soup, cook over high heat until the soup comes to the boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
After this time, adjust the taste with sour borscht and salt.
Finely chop the parsley.
After 10-15 minutes, drizzle the parsley and thyme over the soup and turn off heat after 2-3 minutes.
Let infuse for 20-30 minutes before serving, the pot covered with a lid.
The meatball soup is ready!
Enjoy!