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Traditional Bosnian creamy veal soup with tender pieces of veal and vegetables, served in a bowl

Teleća Bijela Čorba (Bosnian Creamy Veal Soup)

272kcal
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Prep 25 minutes
Cook 1 hour 30 minutes
Temperature Adjustment & Rest 20 minutes
Total 2 hours 15 minutes
Tender veal shoulder, root vegetables, and potatoes in a lightly thickened soup, finished with a carefully tempered cultured-cream-and-yolk liaison. Plain full-fat US sour cream is a disclosed adaptation of the source’s Schmand.
Servings 6 servings
Course Soup
Cuisine Bosnian

Ingredients

Soup base
  • 1.32 lb veal shoulder trimmed, boneless weight; cut into ¾-inch (2 cm) pieces
  • 20 g unsalted butter weigh this small amount in either system
  • 4.23 oz onion prepared weight; finely diced
  • 6.35 oz carrots peeled weight; finely diced
  • 2.82 oz parsley root peeled weight; finely diced; not parsnip or parsley leaves
  • 3.53 oz celery root (celeriac) peeled weight; finely diced
  • 5 g garlic peeled, finely minced; weigh in either system
  • 3 1/3 tbsp all-purpose flour spooned and leveled; original uses German Type 405
  • 6 3/4 cups hot water measured soup water; not salted stock
  • 1 bay leaf remove before finishing
  • 1 1/3 tsp fine table salt initial seasoning; keep separate from finishing salt
  • 1.5 g freshly ground black pepper weigh for the defined formula; grind density varies
  • 6.35 oz potatoes peeled weight; cut into ⅝-inch (1½ cm) pieces
Liaison and final seasoning
  • 5.29 oz full-fat cultured sour cream plain and unflavored; US adaptation, about 18% milkfat or higher; original is 150 g Schmand at about 20% milkfat; no light or fat-free product
  • 1 large egg yolk each about 17 g, without egg white; weigh in Metric
  • 2/3 tsp fine table salt finishing salt; separate from initial seasoning
  • 15 g fresh lemon juice weigh in either system; add after incorporating the liaison
  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley finely chopped; weight is more reliable than volume

Equipment

  • Kitchen scale for prepared meat, root vegetables, dairy, and small seasonings
  • Cutting boards and chef’s knife separate raw-meat preparation from ready-to-eat foods
  • Heavy soup pot at least 4 quarts (about 4 L) for 1x; use a larger pot or separate pots at 2x/3x
  • Wooden spoon stir along the bottom to prevent flour sticking
  • Heatproof bowl and whisk for tempering the cream-and-yolk liaison
  • Ladle add hot soup gradually to the liaison
  • Food thermometer required for the finished egg mixture and safe reheating
  • Shallow storage containers for prompt cooling and refrigeration
Start Cooking

Method

  1. Prepare the ingredients. Trim the veal shoulder and cut into even ¾-inch (2 cm) pieces. Finely dice the onion; cut carrots, parsley root, and celery root into roughly ¼–⅓-inch (7–8 mm) dice. Mince the garlic. Peel the potatoes and cut into about ⅝-inch (1½ cm) pieces; hold in cold water until needed, then drain. Keep raw meat and egg handling separate from ready-to-eat ingredients.
  2. Soften the vegetables. Melt the butter in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, parsley root, and celery root. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 6 minutes, without deep browning.
  3. Add the veal. Stir in the veal and garlic and cook for about 4–5 minutes, until the meat’s raw-looking surface changes color. Do not build a dark crust. This surface change does not mean the meat is fully cooked.
  4. Cook the flour lightly. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the meat and vegetables and stir for about 1 minute. Keep it pale; do not brown it.
  5. Add the water and seasoning. Gradually stir in a small part of the measured hot water until the flour is smoothly dispersed, then add the remainder. Add the bay leaf, the initial-seasoning salt, and black pepper.
  6. Simmer gently. Bring slowly to a gentle simmer, skim any foam, and reduce the heat. Cook with the lid slightly ajar for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Avoid a hard boil or excessive evaporation.
  7. Cook the potatoes. Add the drained potatoes and simmer another 20–25 minutes, until the veal is tender and the potatoes are fully cooked. Remove the bay leaf. Pull the pot off the burner. Before adding the egg-and-cream mixture, let the base cool off heat to about 165–167°F (74–75°C), stirring and checking with a thermometer. The cooling time varies; keep the soup off direct heat during this adjustment.
  8. Temper the liaison. Whisk the full-fat cultured sour cream and egg yolk smooth in a heatproof bowl. Slowly whisk in a small ladleful of hot soup, then add more in small portions while whisking continuously, until the mixture is warm and fluid. The Notes give approximate tempering-soup volumes for each batch size; this liquid comes from the pot, not additional water.
  9. Incorporate the liaison. With the soup pot off direct heat, pour the tempered mixture back in gradually, stirring constantly. Do not pour the cold egg-and-cream mixture straight into boiling soup.
  10. Heat under thermometer control. Return to very low heat only as needed. Stir and check several places until the completed egg-containing soup reaches 162–167°F (72–75°C), at least 160°F (71°C) throughout. If already in range, keep it off the heat. Do not let it boil vigorously; do not judge egg safety by steam or appearance alone.
  11. Finish the seasoning. Stir in the separate finishing salt, measured lemon juice, and finely chopped flat-leaf parsley. The broth should be creamy and lightly coat a spoon while remaining fluid, with distinct meat and vegetable pieces.
  12. Rest and serve. Remove from heat and let stand for about 5 minutes, then serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers as described in the Notes; avoid leaving the full pot out to cool for hours.

Nutrition

Serving1serving (1/6 recipe)Calories272kcalCarbohydrates18.37gProtein23.15gFat11.63gSodium920mg

Notes

Dairy adaptation: The original uses Schmand at about 20% milkfat. Here, use the same 150 g mass of plain, unflavored, full-fat American cultured sour cream, approximately 18% milkfat or higher. Regular US cultured sour cream has a minimum 18% milkfat standard, but exact brand percentages may not be printed on the package. Do not use light or fat-free products as direct replacements. The fat and stabilizer differences can change heat stability and texture. This is an editorial adaptation, not a separately kitchen-tested variant.
Batch guide: 1x serves 6, 2x serves 12, and 3x serves 18. Salt totals are 12/24/36 g, divided into initial 8/16/24 g and finishing 4/8/12 g. For tempering, gradually ladle about 250/500/750 ml of cooked soup into the liaison for 1x/2x/3x, respectively. Take this liquid from the pot; it is not extra water. Keep individual cut sizes and simmer intervals comparable; larger volumes may take longer to heat. Use adequate headroom or separate pots.
Timing: Plan about 2 hours 15 minutes: 25 minutes preparation, approximately 90 minutes cooking, and a 20-minute allowance for off-heat temperature adjustment and the final rest. Cooking includes vegetable softening, briefly cooking the veal and flour, bringing the water to a simmer, 45 minutes simmering before potatoes, another 20–25 minutes with potatoes, and liaison finishing. The additional allowance includes about 15 minutes to let the base drop toward 165–167°F before enrichment, plus the final 5-minute rest. Cooling depends on the pot, room, stirring, and batch size and may take longer; follow the thermometer rather than treating 15 minutes as a guarantee. The source’s roughly two-hour total does not explicitly allow for this controlled temperature pause.
Measurements: Metric preserves the source quantities and its meat-to-water ratio of 600 g veal to 1.6 L water. US measures are rounded: 1 oz = 28.3495 g; 1 lb = 453.592 g; 1 US cup = 236.588 ml. Flour uses 120 g/cup (7.5 g/tbsp), fine table salt 6 g/tsp, and chopped parsley about 60 g/cup. Keep the weighed small ingredients in grams even under US Customary. The yolk converts from a count in US to 17 g in Metric; at 2x/3x use 2/3 yolks, approximately 34/51 g. Do not replace parsley root with parsnip, or celeriac with celery stalks.
Make ahead: Cook the base through the tender-meat-and-potato stage, without the liaison, lemon, or fresh parsley. Cool promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate. Reheat the base thoroughly to at least 165°F (74°C), bringing this unenriched soup base to a boil, then allow its temperature to drop as directed before tempering a fresh liaison. Freezing the base before enrichment is preferable for texture; potatoes may soften further after thawing. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Leftovers: Refrigerate promptly within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 90°F (32°C); do not cool the full stockpot on the counter. Keep at 40°F (4°C) or below and use within 2 days. Reheat only the needed portion, stirring and checking that it reaches 165°F (74°C) throughout. The egg-and-cream finish can split during reheating, especially with a vigorous boil; appearance is not a safety test. Freshly finishing the reheated base is the better make-ahead method. Do not sacrifice the safe reheating temperature to keep the soup smooth.
Nutrition: Estimated per 1 of 6 equal servings from exact Metric amounts. Checked USDA FoodData Central matches model raw trimmed lean veal shoulder, unsalted butter, onion, carrot, celeriac, garlic, flour, table salt, black pepper, potatoes, cultured sour cream, yolk, lemon juice, and parsley leaves. Sour cream is modeled with the generic USDA cultured product (19.4 g fat/100 g), not a guaranteed brand analysis. Ardo’s parsley-root label is used as a nutrient proxy for the fresh root (61 kcal/100 g); its carbohydrate and fiber are combined for a US total-carbohydrate estimate. The generic raw-potato entry includes skin and is an approximation for peeled potatoes. All measured salt and dairy are included; the removed bay leaf is excluded. Trimming, brands, evaporation, and portion size affect the estimate. Contains wheat, milk, and egg; celeriac is also relevant for people with celery allergy. Editorially reviewed, not independently kitchen-tested.