Overview
There are many, many variations of this classic Latvian soup. As a child, I remember that only chicken stock was used and that anything else was frowned upon. A quick search online these days suggests many people are using water with a stock cube, so I guess anything goes!

Time
2 hours

Ingredients
500g mince (I like a combination of veal and pork)
1 slice of bread, crumbed
½ onion, very finely chopped
2 eggs
1 TB sour cream
1 TB dried dill tips
½ ts ground black pepper

4L stock (beef or chicken – both work well – the one in this photo was a beef stock)
2½ onions, diced
4 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
2 TB butter

Freshly chopped dill, finely chopped dill cucumbers and/or a dollop of sour cream for serving

Equipment
Thermomix for making crumbs

Method
1 – Combine the mince, crumbs, ½ onion, eggs, sour cream, dill tips and pepper in a large mixing bowl.

2 – Form meat mixture into small meatballs, 2-3cm in diameter

3 – Melt the butter and saute the vegetables until onion is translucent.

4 – Slowly add stock, stirring a lot initially.

5 – when soup reaches the boil, carefully drop the meatball in individually. They will sink when raw. Try to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom by gently stirring. They will float when done.

6 – Simmer until all vegetables are cooked.

7 – Serve with freshly cut dill, finely chopped dill cucumbers and/or a dollop of sour cream.