Zeamă
Sour chicken noodle soup
Zeamă: Moldovan sour chicken noodle soup with lovage and borș
In the Republic of Moldova, zeamă is the soup of weddings, christenings and Sunday lunches, and a pot of it is said to cure everything from a cold to a hangover. A homegrown chicken gives a golden broth, thin homemade egg noodles go in, and it is soured with borș, the fermented wheat-bran liquid sold in bottles at every market from Chișinău to Bălți, then scented with a big bunch of lovage. The taste is clean, bright and tangy, with the green, celery-like note of lovage on top. It is eaten piping hot, often with a raw onion or a hot pepper on the side. A common mistake is cooking the noodles in the broth for too long, which clouds it; boil them only until just tender. Chef's tip: if you cannot find borș, use the juice of 1 lemon instead, adding it at the end and tasting as you go.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the broth
- 12 ½ cups cold water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 carrotgrated
- 1 parsley root or parsnipgrated
- 1 red pepperfinely diced
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
For the noodles
- 5 ½ oz plain flourplus extra for dusting
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp cold water
To finish
- 2 cups borș (fermented bran sour)
- ⅔ oz fresh lovagechopped
- ⅓ oz fresh dillchopped
- 6 fresh hot pepper (optional)
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Mix the 5 ½ oz plain flour, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 pinch salt and 1 tbsp cold water into a stiff dough and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth. Wrap and rest for 20 minutes.
25 minStep 2: Meanwhile put the 2 ⅝ lb chicken legs and wings, or a small whole chicken jointed, 12 ½ cups cold water, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black peppercorns in a large pot, bring slowly to the boil and skim off the foam, until the broth is clear.
15 minStep 3: Simmer gently for 35 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the thickest piece reads 165°F next to the bone.
35 minStep 4: Roll the dough out very thinly on a floured surface, leave it to dry for 10 minutes, then roll it up and cut into thin noodles 3 mm wide. Shake them loose on a floured tray.
15 minStep 5: Heat the 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and soften the 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 parsley root or parsnip and 1 red pepper for 8 minutes, until soft and fragrant.
8 minStep 6: Lift out the chicken, pull the meat from the bones in large pieces and return it to the pot with the fried vegetables. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8 minStep 7: Heat the 2 cups borș (fermented bran sour) in a separate small pan until it just boils, which stops it clouding the soup, then pour it into the pot.
3 minStep 8: Add the noodles and simmer for 3–4 minutes, until they float and are just tender.
4 minStep 9: Take the pot off the heat, stir in the ⅔ oz fresh lovage and ⅓ oz fresh dill, taste for salt and sourness and serve hot with a 6 fresh hot pepper on the side.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 350 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 25 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zeamă take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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