Recipe: Kufteh Soup

This soup is a variation on two recipes, a Persian soup called Aash-e Gojeh Farangi, and a meatballs-in-tomato-sauce dish called Kufteh Sabzi.

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef or lamb
3 tablespoons basmati rice (uncooked)
3 tablespoons lentils
2 cups water
1/2 onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
1 bunch fresh mint, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Simmer the rice and lentils in 2 cups of water in a small saucepan until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together ground beef or lamb, onion, mint, egg, cooked rice and lentils, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Form the meat mixture into walnut-sized balls. Place meatballs on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, until browned. Makes about 2 dozen.

Soup:

½ large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 cups beef stock
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup basmati rice
¼ cup lentils
1 teaspoon marjoram, dried or finely chopped fresh
Salt and pepper to taste

While the meatballs are baking, heat vegetable oil in a soup kettle and sauté onion until lightly browned. Add beef stock and whisk in tomato paste. Add rice and lentils and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. When the rice and lentils are done, add meatballs to soup and simmer for about 10 minutes. Ladle soup and meatballs into individual soup bowls. Serves 4.