Armenian Meatball Soup

Name: Armenian Meatball Soup
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup #1 grade fine bulgur; 1 pound ground beef; ½ small onion; 1 tablespoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 2 teaspoons paprika; about ½ cup water; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; 1 small onion; 6 cups water; 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce or ground peeled tomatoes; 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth or beef broth (or an equivalent amount of water); 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon paprika; ½ teaspoon black pepper; ⅓ cup lemon juice; 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1 tablespoon rice; 1 tablespoon dried mint leaves

User Reviews

5.0

78 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr
Servings
8 servings
Calories
239 kcal
Course
Main Course, Soup
Cuisine
Armenian

Armenian Meatball Soup

Megan Mendez

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This Armenian Meatball Soup, Armenian kufta (kofta) soup or sulu kofte, is the ultimate bowl of comfort. Tiny beef-and-bulgur meatballs are poached in a lemony, tomato-laced broth, and finished with dried mint to create this family favorite!

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Ingredients

Servings

Meatballs:

1 cup #1 grade fine bulgur
1 pound ground beef
½ small onion, minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
about ½ cup water

Soup:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce or ground peeled tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth or beef broth (or an equivalent amount of water)
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
⅓ cup lemon juice
1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)
1 tablespoon rice (optional)
1 tablespoon dried mint leaves

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Instructions

Meatballs:

Fill a small bowl with some water and place next to the mixing bowl.
Add the bulgur, beef, onion, salt, pepper, and paprika to the bowl and mix well with your hands, adding water a handful at a time until it becomes cohesive and firm (you may need to wet your hands with the water in the bowl as you mix).
Constantly wetting your hands, make little meatballs by rolling small bits of the mixture between your palms. They should be about ¾-inch to 1-inch in diameter. Place the small meatballs on a tray or baking sheet until ready to cook. You will have about 130 meatballs.

Soup:

In a pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter, add the onion, and sauté until softened. Add the water, tomato sauce, broth, salt, pepper, and paprika, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add the lemon juice and carefully drop the meatballs several at a time into the liquid, mixing in between additions to make sure the meatballs do not stick together. Add the chickpeas or rice, if desired.
When the mixture comes back up to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through (they will plump up). Adjust the seasonings if needed, and add the dried mint just before removing from the heat. Serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe uses kosher salt (aka cooking salt, kitchen salt, coarse salt outside of the US). If you are using table salt, definitely scale down the salt as that is a saltier type of salt! The type of salt will make a big difference in how salty your food tastes, so keep that in mind.

Nutrition Information

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Calories 239kcal (12%) Carbohydrates 26g (9%) Protein 18g (36%) Fat 8g (12%) Saturated Fat 3g (15%) Cholesterol 42mg (14%) Sodium 1276mg (53%) Potassium 346mg (10%) Fiber 6g (24%) Sugar 4g (8%)