Bulgur and Meatball Soup (Shorbet Burghul bil Lahm)
A warm grain soup that brings together coarse bulgur with meatballs and vegetables in chicken broth, present on the tables of the Levant and the Gulf whenever a filling dish is craved on a cold night.
Its presence fills a gap in our library, which knew barley, freekeh, and jareesh but not bulgur.
Mix the ground meat with the parsley, dried mint, salt, and black pepper and knead it well until it holds together, then shape small balls the size of a walnut, as distributing the herbs inside the mixture gives each ball an even flavor when cooked.
Melt half the amount of butter in a pan over medium heat, add the balls, and turn them until they brown on all sides, then set them aside; the initial browning fixes their shape so they do not fall apart in the broth.
In a wide pot, melt the rest of the butter and sauté the onion until it wilts and turns translucent, then add the garlic for a minute, as starting with the onion builds a gentle flavor base before the rest of the vegetables.
Add the carrot and celery and stir for two minutes, then add the zucchini, grated tomatoes, and soaked bulgur and stir until the grains are coated in the fat, which distributes the flavor and prevents the bulgur from clumping.
Pour in the chicken broth and season with the salt and pepper, and bring it to a boil, then cover the pot, lower the heat, and cook for 20 minutes until the bulgur and vegetables soften.
Add the meatballs to the soup and cook for 10 additional minutes over low heat until they are fully done and their internal temperature reaches 71 degrees Celsius per FSIS, which is the safety threshold for ground meat.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Bulgur and Meatball Soup, and how to fix them:
Make sure to brown them well before adding them, and add them only in the last 10 minutes, not at the start of cooking.
Extend the covered cooking by five additional minutes and add a little hot broth if the soup dries out.
Keep it in an airtight container for up to three days, and its texture thickens so we thin it with hot broth when reheating.
Freeze it for up to a month, and it is better to freeze it without the bulgur because it may soften more than needed after thawing.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| coarse white bulgur | cracked freekeh | 140 g | A grain of close texture that gives a similar soup for those who cannot find bulgur |
| ground beef | ground lamb | 250 g | A halal substitute that gives a deeper flavor to the balls |
| chicken broth | vegetable broth | 1080 ml | A vegetarian option that keeps the soup light |
| butter | olive oil | 28 g | A plant-based, dairy-free substitute |
| Ingredient | 2 servings | 4 servings (base) | 8 servings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground beef | 100 g | 200 g | 400 g |
| Coarse white bulgur | 56 g | 112 g | 224 g |
| Chicken broth | 432 ml | 864 ml | 1728 ml |
| Zucchini | 120 g | 240 g | 480 g |
We soak the coarse bulgur for a full hour before cooking, which shortens its cooking time and gives it a tender, intact texture rather than a mushy one.
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