The Soup I Always Come Back To

15 minutes, plus a gentle 2 hour 10 minute simmer · Serves 4-6

a slow-simmered Dutch tomato soup with tiny meatballs and vermicelli

Tiny meatballs, a slow simmer, the first cool evening of the year.

A note from Essy: I usually buy the mixed mince from one of the lovely farm shops near us. I never add herbs, salt, breadcrumbs or egg to the meat itself; all the seasoning goes into the soup. I know that is not how everybody makes meatballs, but it is how I learned to make this particular soup, and it is still the version I want when the days begin to turn. I make mine in my round Le Creuset casserole - the pan I reach for whenever something needs to simmer rather than be rushed. This technically makes four to six servings, although serving sizes become rather theoretical when I can quite happily eat two bowls myself. Add a piece of homemade baguette and dinner is finished.

Ingredients

• 500 ml passata
• 1 litre tomato juice
• 300-350 g mixed minced meat
• ½ small garlic clove, very finely grated or crushed, or less to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, plus more to taste
• Fine sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Up to 250 ml prepared vegetable stock, only if needed
• 50-75 g fine vermicelli
• Homemade baguette, to serve, optional but very welcome

Method

1. Pour the passata and tomato juice into a large, heavy casserole. Add the garlic, Italian herbs, a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir well and warm gently over medium-low heat until the tomato base is close to a simmer.
2. While the soup warms, roll the unseasoned mixed mince into small meatballs, approximately 2 cm across. Do not add anything to the meat.
3. Lower the raw meatballs directly into the warm tomato soup. Be gentle when stirring during the first few minutes, while the meatballs are still delicate.
4. Bring the soup to a very gentle simmer, then turn the heat low and partially cover the pan. Leave it to simmer quietly for approximately two hours. Stir occasionally. If the soup becomes thicker than you like, add a little prepared vegetable stock until it reaches the consistency you prefer.
5. Taste the soup and adjust the Italian herbs, pepper and salt. Add the vermicelli only now, during the final stage of cooking.
6. Simmer for approximately nine minutes, or until the vermicelli is tender according to its packet instructions. Stir a few times so the strands do not gather together, and make sure the meatballs are cooked through.
7. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and serve steaming hot, preferably with thick slices of homemade baguette.

This is low-effort cooking, rather than fast cooking.

• Keep:Let leftovers cool and refrigerate within two hours, or divide into individual freezer portions once cooled. The vermicelli continues to absorb liquid as the soup rests, so it will naturally be thicker the next day.
• Reheat:From frozen, place straight into a saucepan over low heat with a small splash of water, tomato juice or vegetable stock. Cover while it thaws, loosen gently as it softens, then stir and heat until steaming hot throughout. Reheat leftovers only once.

• ♡ Keep the mince plain. The meatballs take on flavour while they simmer in the seasoned tomato base.
• ♡ Stock is an adjustment, not a fixed ingredient. Add only as much as the soup needs.
• ♡ Wait with the vermicelli. If it goes in too early, it becomes overly soft and absorbs too much of the soup.
• ♡ Expect leftovers to thicken. A splash of liquid brings the soup back when reheating.
• ♡ Make it your own size. Use 300 g mince and 50 g vermicelli for a lighter soup, or 350 g mince and 75 g vermicelli for a fuller bowl.
• ♡ No sugar required. The passata, tomato juice and slow simmer create the balance.

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Written by Esther

Esther is a photographer and storyteller, and the founder of Essy's Essentials - a seasonal home for stories, rituals, recipes and everyday luxuries.

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