Oma's Tomato Soup

We call it "Dutch" tomato  soup but there's actually little to nothing about this recipe that is Dutch other than the amazing woman who passed it on. There will come a day when I do a post about her, I'm sure, but for now, just know that my Oma {Dad's mom} was a beautiful example of domesticity and I think of her each and every time I bake homemade bread, make a beef roast or this delicious soup. This is an incredibly simple recipe and you may even already make it at home and not even know it. 

What You'll Need:

Tomato Base:  

Tomatoes

Onions

Food Mill

Once Ready to Serve: 

1 lb Ground Beef

1/4 c Bread Crumbs (optional)

1 c Thin Egg Noodles (optional)
1 bouillon (optional)

One: Cut tomatoes into quarters or large chunks and place in large soup pot.  {We used BeefSteak, Better Boy and Cherry... really, you can use any tomato though Plums and Romas probably won't yield as much as the other, more juicy varieties.}Also, cut up one onion into chunks and break it up into the pot.

Two: Turn the pot onto medium/medium-high heat and cook the tomatoes down until they're soft and have lost a lot of their juice.

Three: Once the pot has cooked down, pour the mixture into your food mill and puree the liquid into a large pot.{NoTe: I have a different mill than many have. It was given to me as a gift. Any mill will do.}

If you're planning to can this soup mixture, at this point you can use a hot water bath or a pressure canner to process your jars for 20 minutes at 10 lbs.

Ready to eat it now? It's time to get the ground beef, bread crumbs and noodles out. 

Four: Add 1 beef bouillon to the tomato base in a large pot and bring your tomato base to a boil.  

Five: In a large bowl, combine beef and bread crumbs and roll out meatballs about 1" in diameter. Once all rolled, add the meat to the soup and continue to boil until the meatballs float {5-10 minutes}

Six: Add noodles, boil for 1-2 minutes and you're ready to serve. {NoTe: It is very tempting to add lots and lots of noodles. As a noodle lover I must warn you that it is easy to add too many noodles and end up with American Chop Suey. Moderation is wise.}

In our family, we always serve this meal with a loaf of Italian bread, some good Dutch gouda cheese and Maggi, a spice that is similar to soy sauce that adds saltiness. You can just add salt if you'd like.

And as they say in Holland,  Eet Smakelijk! {pronounced ate smock-a-lek}