Instructions

For the soup

Place the halved tomatoes and quartered onion onto a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil

Place in a 200 degree Celsius oven for 20 minutes until they are soft and starting to brown around the edges

while the tomatoes are roasting add the carrot and celery to a pot with a drizzle of olive oil and saute for 10 minutes.

Add the tomato puree and cook out for 5 minutes

Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute

Add the stock and the now roasted tomato and onion to the pot. Remember to scrape all the goodness of the pan into the pot

Add the sugar and bicarb and salt to taste depending on how salty your stock was

Cook on medium for 30 minutes

For the meatballs

While the soup is cooking add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well

Portion out with an ice cream scoop onto an oven tray and bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees celsius turning often

Set aside

Bringing it together

Once the soup have cooked for 30 minutes add the basil and then puree it with an immersion blender or normal blender. I like to keep it rustic so I do not strain the soup through a sieve but feel free to do so if you want to remove the seeds

Add the meatballs back to the soup in a pot and simmer on low for 15 minutes.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of Parmesan, basil and a crispy roll.