I’m convinced that a significant part of my passion for cooking and food comes from my father. He never sat and taught me how to do certain things (my mother is the one giving lessons, only by request), but he always tolerated my presence (with great efforts, I’m sure, because he doesn’t like to have people around when he cooks) while cooking food for us, in the days when my mother didn’t. Over time, I was able to learn some things, some basic notions, some abilities. Today I present to you a veal soup made in my father’s style, a soup that you are supposed to sour in the plate (of course, not being sour in the pot might make it a sweet soup, but you eat it like a regular sour soup, so in my book it’s still a soup) either with the liquid from the pickled hot peppers or from the pickled cucumbers, with lemon juice (it’s not a mistake to add the juice while the soup is boiling), or with sour cream. I love this freedom that is offered to the consumer, which brings this soup very close to my heart, also because it’s from back home.
The beginning of the story: for a pot with four liters of water, you should have a kilogram of veal meat, bones included (back bones, ribs, bone-in breast, anything). Wash the meat and cut it into not too big or not too small pieces. Scald the meat and bones and put them to boil in cold water, on low heat. When they will have been boiling for almost an hour (you will probably have to skim it, but it’s not a big deal), add three large carrots, cleaned and cut into cubes, two not too large parsnips, cut in the same way, a parsley root and a small turnip cabbage, also cut into small cubes.
If you want, you can add some peas, cauliflower florets, Brussels sprouts, and a few celery leaves. A few parsley tubes, tied together, also help with the flavoring.
Allow the vegetables to boil in the soup, also on low heat, for about 23-30 minutes. Season the soup with tarragon, salt and pepper, squeeze the juice from a lemon if you like. If not, do as you wish, there are plenty of options. Stay healthy.
Special thanks to
Oana Bodnariuc, Authorized Translator
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