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Meatball Soup (Supë me Pasha Qofte)

Yields8 ServingsPrep Time5 minsCook Time30 minsTotal Time35 mins

This is a genuine old recipe from the town of Gjirokastra, Albania. It is a very colorful, nutritious and exquisite taste with Turkish and European influence. Pasha qofte are paired with a simple soup base made with potatoes and carrots cooked in broth. Into this bubbling soup you drop rice meatballs made with ground meat or turkey, rice, onion, herbs and spices which come together very quickly to a perfect bowl of soup.

Meatball Soup Featured

Soup Base
 2 medium carrotsjulienne cut
 1 large potatodiced
 ½ onionfinely chopped or grated
 2 cups chicken stockor vegetable stock
 4 cups water
 1 garlic cloveminced
 2 egg yolks
 1 tsp thymeor oregano
 ¼ cup lemon juicefresh squeezed
 2 tbsp butter
 2 tsp corn starch
Meatballs
 250 g ground meatof your choice
  cup ricehalf cooked
 ½ red onionfinely chopped or grated
 1 tsp dry mintor 1/4 cup fresh mint
 ¼ cup parsleyminced
 1 egg white
 1 tsp salt
 ½ tsp pepper
1

Cook the rice for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain the water and leave it aside to cool down.

Soup Base
2

Melt the butter in a medium size pot over low heat.

3

Add onion and cook until the soft about 2-3 minutes.

4

Add chicken broth, carrots, potatoes, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. While the vegetable soup is brought to boil, start making meatballs.

Meatballs
5

In a bowl, combine ground meat, rice, onion, garlic, egg white, parsley, mint and season with salt and black pepper. To keep meatballs from becoming tough, mix together just enough to be well combined.

6

Roll the meatballs mix into round shapes in the size of a walnut about 1 inch. To ensure the meatballs are the same size use a cookie scoop to keep them even.

7

Once the soup reached the boiling point, drop the mini meatballs one by one into it. Cover the pot half way and reduce heat Simmer for 20 minutes.

Egg Lemon Sauce
8

In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice and sifted corn starch. The corn starch should be well dissolved until a yellow and creamy liquid sauce is obtained.

9

With a ladle add vegetable broth from the pot into the egg-lemon sauce while constantly whisking it, so the eggs don’t get curdled.

10

After few cups are added, you can safely return the sauce back to the pot to cook for few more minutes on medium high heat.

11

Taste for salt and pepper and garnish with chopped fresh parsley. Serve warm with crusted bread. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1

Servings 0


Amount Per Serving
Calories 220Calories from Fat 98.38
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 10.93g17%

Saturated Fat 4.75g24%
Trans Fat 0.49g
Cholesterol 68.15mg23%
Sodium 424.64mg18%
Potassium 453.97mg13%
Total Carbohydrate 20.62g7%

Dietary Fiber 1.88g8%
Sugars 2.95g
Protein 9.72g20%

Vitamin A 19.44%
Vitamin C 18.91%
Calcium 3.69%
Iron 8.47%
Vitamin D 1.78%
Vitamin E 2.51%
Vitamin K 29.13%
Thiamin 8.76%
Riboflavin 12.92%
Niacin 19.39%
Vitamin B6 26.79%
Folate 7.26%
Vitamin B12 30.98%
Phosphorus 18.26%
Magnesium 6.78%
Zinc 16.46%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.