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Flavourful meatball and tomato soup to beat the chill
There’s nothing like a warm bowl of soup with a fresh roll or homemade slice of bread to get the chill out of your bones.
Picture: iStock
Looking for a quick and budget-friendly dinner idea to keep warm in the chilly weather? This easy tomato soup with pork meatballs is the perfect comfort food for rainy and cold days.
ALSO SEE: Recipe of the day: Beef stew with steamed bread
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1½ tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 100g giant couscous
- 500ml hot vegetable stock
- 150g baby spinach
- ½ small bunch of basil
- grated parmesan, to serve (optional)
Method
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the onion and peppers for 7 mins, then stir through the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 min. Add the tomatoes, giant couscous and veg stock and bring to a simmer.
- Season to taste, then add the meatballs and spinach.
- Simmer for 5-7 mins or until cooked through. Ladle into bowls and top with the basil and some parmesan, if you like.
Tomato soup
This flavourful soup is ideal to beat the cold rainy days.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soups
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients
Scale
- 1½ tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 100g giant couscous
- 500ml hot vegetable stock
- 150g baby spinach
- ½ small bunch of basil
- grated parmesan, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the onion and peppers for 7 mins, then stir through the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 min. Add the tomatoes, giant couscous and veg stock and bring to a simmer.
- Season to taste, then add the meatballs and spinach.
- Simmer for 5-7 mins or until cooked through. Ladle into bowls and top with the basil and some parmesan, if you like.
Pork Meatballs
Ingredients
- 400g pork mince, or use half pork, half beef
- 1 small red onion or shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 50g breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- ½ tbsp vegetable oil
- To flavour (optional): 1 tsp tomato purée, 1 tbsp grated parmesan, 1 tsp lemongrass paste or 1 tsp English mustard
Method
- Put the mince, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs and egg in a bowl, along with your chosen flavouring. Mix well. Use your hands to fully combine the mixture, squeezing it through your fingers several times.
- Form the mixture into 12-14 evenly sized meatballs, roughly the size of a walnut. At this point, you can freeze the meatballs (if the meat wasn’t previously frozen) in a sealed container for up to three months. Defrost completely in the fridge overnight before using.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and brown the meatballs all over, about 8-10 mins. (You may need to do this in batches.) To fully cook through, reduce the heat and continue to fry, moving around every so often so they don’t burn. For best results, finish cooking in the sauce of your choice.
Pork meatballs
These homemade pork meatballs will be ready in under 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Pork
- Method: Pan frying
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Scale
- 400g pork mince, or use half pork, half beef
- 1 small red onion or shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 50g breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- ½ tbsp vegetable oil
- To flavour (optional): 1 tsp tomato purée, 1 tbsp grated parmesan, 1 tsp lemongrass paste or 1 tsp English mustard
Instructions
- Put the mince, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs and egg in a bowl, along with your chosen flavouring. Mix well. Use your hands to fully combine the mixture, squeezing it through your fingers several times.
- Form the mixture into 12-14 evenly sized meatballs, roughly the size of a walnut. At this point, you can freeze the meatballs (if the meat wasn’t previously frozen) in a sealed container for up to three months. Defrost completely in the fridge overnight before using.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and brown the meatballs all over, about 8-10 mins. (You may need to do this in batches.) To fully cook through, reduce the heat and continue to fry, moving around every so often so they don’t burn. For best results, finish cooking in the sauce of your choice.
*The above recipes were sourced from www.bbcgoodfood.com.
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