Tomato soup with meatballs

⇐ Soups

Ingredients

for the soup

30ml olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

1-2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

800g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped. (or two tins)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

½ tsp paprika

1l chicken or vegetable stock, or water

20g vermicelli (optional - I never do this)

salt & pepper

chopped fresh parsley to garnish

for the meatballs

250g minced beef, pork or veal - I usually use 'half om half', 50% beef and 50% pork

1 egg

pinch of ground nutmeg

50g soft white breadcrumbs

salt & pepper

herbs, such as sage and thyme - this is not in the recipe, but I think it improves the meatballs considerably

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Sweat the onions for 5 minutes - don't brown.
2. Add the garlic, celery, carrots and potato and cook on very low heat for 10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
3. Add the tomato purée and cook briefly, stir in paprika and then add tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes.
4. Purée the soup with a food processor, stick blender and pass through a sieve. Season to taste.
5. While the soup is cooking make the meatballs. Mix all the ingredients and knead till all homogenous. Shape into small meatballs, less than 1 cm in diameter, wetting your hands if they get too sticky.
6. Reheat the soup, add the meatballs (and vermicelli, if using) and cook for 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked.
7. Garnish with parsley.

Dutch & Belgian Food and Cooking Janny de Moor and Suzanne Vandyck

dutch Nederlands