Tomatensoep Met Ballekes

For Christmas, my friend E. gave me a cookbook called "Everybody Eats Well in Belgium", by Ruth Van Waerebeek. I had never heard of this cookbook, though it is not an ancient tome or the production of an obscure publisher. It was released by by Workman Publishing in 1996, and I have certainly been devouring information and reviews about new cookbooks since well before then. So I was a curious on that account-not that I never miss anything wonderful in this area, but I do try not to. It didn't sound even vaguely familiar.

Then there was the fact that the title was clearly not true-and I don't just mean technically untrue, as in "there might be a few eccentrics in Belgium who have no interest in food." I am perfectly willing to believe that Belgian culture and tradition place an emphasis on fresh, well prepared food, and all that. But hey, it's a Western European country-which means that it is full of two-earner families with limited cooking time, and also full of all sorts of convenience foods, some good, and many bad. It's got to take some effort to eat well there, and nowhere near everybody is going to be that interested. Could be some of the people, most of the time, and most of the people...well, never mind.

But then, I started reading it. This is a very good cookbook. It has some nice background chat about Belgian home cooking traditions, and the recipes are unpretentious, distinctive, and so far, they work very well. I've made a couple of things, and liked them very much . One is this homey and flavorful tomato soup, with tiny little veal meatballs, which is delicious, comforting, and a keeper. I had some with a sandwich of leftover thin sliced grilled beef and horseradish, and it really hit the spot. I'll be taking the rest to work with me for lunches.

I adapted this recipe only very slightly, based on ingredients at hand, an approach sanctioned by Ms. Van Waerebeek.

I used:
unsalted butter 3 tbsps
onion coarsely chopped one
leek coarsely chopped one
carrot peeled and chopped one
fennel coarsely chopped 1/2 large bulb
small potatoes peeled and chopped 3
minced fresh parsley 2 tbsps
bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
home canned tomatoes, drained 2 qts
Homemade beef broth 3 cups
cream or whole milk 1/2 cup
chopped chervil or fresh chives

Meatballs
ground veal, 6 oz
minced parsley 1 tbsp
freshly grated nutmeg pinch
S and P to taste

Melt the butter and cook the carrots, onion, leek, and fennel until soft-do not brown them. Add all soup ingredients, down to, but not including the milk. Bring to a boil, cover and cook about 50 minutes, until all veg are very tender. Meanwhile, boil a big pot of salted water. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together, and form into tiny, marble-sized meatballs. Poach about 3 minutes in the water. Remove with slotted spoon, and reserve. When soup veg are tender, puree the soup, with an immersion blender or otherwise. When ready to serve, correct seasoning, add milk or cream, and a bit more butter, if desired. Heat, but do not boil. Add meatballs, grate a tiny bit of extra nutmeg in, top with the chopped fresh herbs, and serve. Ms. Van W. emphasis the importnce of distributing the tasty little meatballs equitably.

After I discovered that I am, after all, very fond of this cookbook, I noticed that the back cover blurb is by Richard Olney, and that the book is loaded with twenty-one five star reviews at Amazon. I am probably the only person on earth who did not already know about this cookbook. I guess I did just miss it the first time around. I'm glad I lucked out this Christmas, thanks to my clever friend.

Comments

[doug]

last name is Waerebeek

[lindy]

Thanks doug-fixed it. The scrolly letters had me fooled.

[mzn]

Perhaps the title of the book can be excused as wishful thinking? It comforts me to think that there's a place, any place, where everyone eats well. It's unlikely that everyone in Belgium has your home canned tomatoes and homemade beef stock, of course.

This soup sounds great.

[Nic]

Neat cookbook! The soup sounds delicious, too.

[Kimberly]

Mmmm, another yummy sounding soup recipe. I love tomato soups, but my husband doesn't... more for me!

[Baking Soda]

Hi Lindy, I was reading your post about pasta and plurals and then something Dutch jumped out! Wooha! Well okay it turned out to be Belgian but since they are our neighbours and they themselves haven't figured out what language to speak (the great Belgian divide of french and a form of dutch)...I felt welcome. Meatballs and soup are a great combination according to my children. Can I make a suggestion though? I poach the meatballs in the stock, not separately, so the juices of both stock and balls will transfer and not be wasted in the poaching water. I'll post today about my vegetable soup with meatballs (groentesoep met balletjes), had a picture waiting! Exploring yr blog for more now...Bye

[lindy]

Hello all- This cookbook has quite a few more promising looking recipes I plan to try....
Baking soda-you know, I was wondering about that myself-why waste the poaching liquid? I can see a separate poaching for dumplings with flour, mazoh balls, etc., because they soak up a lot of liquid when you poach them, but I don't think these tiny meatballs would do that. I will do it your way next time. I'm going to check out your blog now.

[Rebecca]

This is one of the many cookbooks I'm getting rid of at our church rummage sale next weekend; sacrilege, I know, but I've just made the arbitrary decision to quit giving house room to cookbooks that have a 5-year or more coating of furry dust on them. I did read it when I bought it and it is a good book, I just never used it.
But I had the luck to go to Belgium in 2003 when my husband's band played the Belgian Blues Festival and I can attest that they DO eat well there, especially their FRENCH FRIES, mussels, chocolate-covered waffles (of which of I ate one every day) and coffee.

[lindy]

Envy. The trip sounds wonderful. I've actually made quite a few things from this cookbook, and it is still sitting out in my "rummaging currently" pile.
I am lost in admiration fort your ability to weed out and discard cookbooks. I have tried many times and am almost entirely unable to do it. And I keep buying more, too. My other books are a similar problem.
When I win the powerball lottery, there will be a dining room in my newly purchased little cottage, with floor to ceiling bookshelves, and one of those little rolling ladders.

[Rebecca]

Well, you might want to check out our rummage sale next Saturday on Le Roi Rd.; unfortunately I won't be there to help out, since my husband and I have to drive to Erie to give a Retrouvaille talk, but there will be lots of cookbooks and other books going for $1/hardbacks and 50 cents paperbacks.

I used to spend upwards of $200/month on books myself and then I discovered the LIBRARY; two problems eliminated, spending all that money, and having to find space for all those books. I only buy a book if I think it looks worth either keeping or passing on to my mother.

Now, if I could do something similar with my SHOES...

[lindy]

Ha-Rebecca-By the location of your church, I gather that you also live in Squirrel Hill? I used to live near it, on Woodwell St-but now live the other end- by Greenfield.

[Rebecca]

Point Breeze, near the Frick Mansion. Don't you love living in the East End; it's so convenient to everything.