Sundays are usually workdays for me. Especially around the time that DUTCH goes to print. Do I mind? Not one bit. As a child, I made my own magazines. The covers were usually made from boxes of crackers that I would tear open, cover with with paper and design myself. Of course, I also wrote all the contents. Even an editor’s letter. These ‘magazines’ soon became little storybooks.
I grew up and considered a few other career paths — fashion designer (I was the fashion editor of my high school newspaper), pyschologist (studied that for two years even) and art historian (I graduated from Leiden University with a degree in Dutch art history from the Golden Age). I was convinced I would end up either teaching or working at a museum. Well, I did teach for a few years, but ultimately, I decided to look at my life and get real. I knew I wanted to be a writer and work in the world of media. But who makes a living as a writer these days? I am happy to say that I do. Working on Sundays is therefore not an issue.
Especially when I have easy recipes such as this one up my sleeve.
A hearty, warming tomato soup that can be made in a mere 15 minutes, and that beats the crap out of anything from a pack. Here is the recipe, which I’ve aptly titled ‘Writer’s Tomato Soup’, with love from me to you.
Tomato Soup
Serves 3-4
- 3 tbsps olive oil
- 2 red onions, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 500 ml passata di pomodoro
- 750 ml beef stock
- 2 tsps dried Italian spices
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper
300 g ground beef - 1 egg
- 2 tbsps breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp Spanish smoked paprika powder
- 3 tbsps cream
- garden cress, as garnish
Heat 3 tbsps of the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and sweat the onions and garlic. Add the passata, beef stock, Italian spices, sugar and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and cover. In the meantime, mix the ground beef with the egg, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper. Make little meatballs the size of walnuts and drop them into the pan as you go. Once all the balls are in the pan, cover and allow to cook for 7 minutes. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan, take out the meatballs and fry them for a couple of minutes, just so they get a nice brown color. Add the smoked paprika powder and cream to the soup and blitz either in the blender of with a hand-held mixer. Serve the soup with the meatballs and garnish with garden cress.