Ciorbă cu coaste afumate is a Romanian soup (“chorba”) made with smoked pork ribs and tangy, fermented wheat bran juice (borș). The name literally means ‘sour soup with smoked bones.’ In this post I will show you how to make the ciorbă completely from scratch using homemade borș. There are, of course, shortcuts to get a really good result without having to smoke your own ribs and ferment wheat bran yourself. But first let’s explore this whole class of ciorbă, sour soups, in Romania.

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The unique character of ciorbă cu coaste afumate

Ciorbă came to Romanian directly from Turkish çorba ‘soup’ which in turn comes from the Arabic word for soup شربة “shurbah.” The root of this word is the Semitic /Š-R-B/ meaning ‘to drink.’ In Romania, however, chorba is specifically a sour-flavored soup contrasted with the more generic supă meaning any other type of soup. In Romania this chorba with smoked ribs is a popular classic, as is chorba with meatballs (ciorbă de perișoare), chorba with tripe (ciorbă de burtă), and borș or Romanian borscht which could have any number of ingredients as well as many other variations. We will explore some of these as well as chorba from other Eastern European cuisines on this blog.

The unique ingredients in this ciorbă include the aforementioned borș and lovage, a green leafy herb common in Eastern European and especially Romanian cuisine, where it is known as leuștean (see above photo). I’ve grown lovage in the garden in the past because it is not easy to find. I was also able to locate it in a local Bulgarian market (where it is called devesil девесил); you can also purchase it online. In a pinch, substitute celery leaves for the lovage. Unless you make it from scratch, liquid borș will be even more difficult to find in stores (though you can use a powdered form called “Borș Magic” imported from Romania, available in some Eastern European stores and online). Some Romanians have confessed to transporting borș or borș starter back to the States on trips abroad. A few tablespoons of lemon juice will suffice to sour the ciorbă, although the flavor will not be the same. Romanians will also use lemon juice in a pinch so I regard the method as appropriately “authentic.”

Smoking the meat for ciorbă cu coaste afumate

Pork ribs are the most popular ingredient in this soup. However, you could use beef ribs as well or even a different cut of bone-in pork. In fact, I purchased meat that was marked “pork ribs” but I think they may have been pieces of bone-in pork shoulder. If you want to skip smoking altogether (and save yourself a couple hours of work), look for already smoked pork ribs. I found them in my supermarket near other smoked meats like turkey legs. You might also find them at an ethnic grocer.

Smoking meat is easiest if you have a smoker, of course. You can get a decent smoke using a gas or charcoal grill. You’ll need some wood chips and either a smoke box or heavy duty aluminum foil. Soak the wood chips then place them in a smoke box or a perforated packet made from foil. Place the chips on your grill and let them heat on just one side of the grill.

You’ll be slowly smoking the meat with indirect heat so set the grill as low as it can go. Put the heat source and smoker packet on one side and and the ribs on the other, cooler side. Once a steady stream of smoke emerges from the smoke packet, put your meat on the grill and cover. You might need to create a gap to allow some heat to escape so that you don’t overcook the meat.

If the smoke dies out, add some more soaked wood chips to the smoker. Continue smoking for about 45 minutes total until your meat pieces have a nice smoky, pinkish patina.

After smoking the ribs you can begin to prepare the chorba. You can smoke your meat anytime in advance; refrigerate or freeze it until soup making day. Place the smoked ribs in a soup pot with about 3 quarts of cold water. Bring the water to a rolling boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Skim foam that forms on the water surface. Add a half an onion, one chopped carrot, one rib of celery in chunks with the leaves, and a bay leaf. Cook for about an hour on low heat, partially covered. While the meat is cooking, chop all the vegetables for the soup.

Vegetables for the ciorbă cu coaste afumate

As with any vegetable soup you have some leeway here on which vegetables to include. Many versions of ciorbă cu coaste afumate include parsnip, carrot, potato and onion. Sometimes you’ll find the addition of celery, scallions as well as sweet and hot peppers. We’re going to use them all here, starting with the root vegetables. To prevent them from browning, I recommend covering the chopped or diced potatoes and parsnips in some water while you chop everything else.

Some people like to eat ciorbă with hot peppers on the side so you can choose to dice the hot pepper as well and leave it in the soup. It depends how spicy you like things.

These vegetables, minus the potatoes, we will sauté lightly together with a rib of chopped celery before adding them to the soup. After a couple minutes, push the vegetables aside and put 6 oz. of tomato paste or two crushed roma tomatoes in the center of the pan. Heat this until very fragrant and then stir everything together and remove from the heat. Chop any remaining vegetables you are using: green onions, sweet or bell peppers (but not the hot pepper–keep it whole if using). Chop the fresh lovage or celery leaves.

Finishing the broth

After the ribs have simmered for about an hour, remove the vegetables from the broth and discard them. Remove the meat to a plate and put the potato cubes into the broth. When the ribs are cool enough to handle, cut the meat from the bones. Chop the meat into chunks and return to the broth.

Alternatively, you can leave the meat on the bones and serve them whole in the ciorbă. If you plan to do this, I recommend starting with one-bone riblets at the smoking stage to make the soup easier to eat.

Stir the tomato-vegetable mixture into the broth. Add the green onion and peppers to the soup. Season it with a teaspoon of turmeric, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh lovage or celery leaves (only 1 tablespoon if using dried lovage). Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Finishing the chorba

Add pasta to the soup after it has simmered for 20 minutes. Romanians often add spaghetti to this soup but you can use 3 ounces of any shape. Break spaghetti into thirds before adding to the soup. Cook the pasta in the soup for about 10 minutes. After the pasta has cooked, add the borș or lemon juice as a souring agent. Adding it earlier will cook off some of the flavor. Season the chorba with salt and black pepper to taste.

Remove the bay leaf and hot pepper. Serve with sour cream and hot peppers, if you like.

The recipe