Vegane Tomatensuppe mit Linsenbällchen (vegan tomato soup with lentil balls)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. Toss the tomatoes, onion and garlic with the olive oil and sugar, spread on a baking sheet, and roast 30 minutes, until collapsed and lightly caramelised at the edges.
2. Meanwhile, combine the lentils and water in a small pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, until the lentils have broken down completely into a thick, sticky mass, well past the point of merely soft; a loose, wet mixture will not hold together as balls.
3. Take the lentils off the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, onion and salt. Let cool for 15 minutes, until cool enough to handle.
4. Roll the lentil mixture into 16 small balls, about the size of a walnut.
5. Tip the roasted tomatoes, onion and garlic into a pot with the broth. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, then blend completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the lentil balls in batches, turning occasionally, for about 3 minutes per side, until deeply browned and crisp all over.
7. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the lentil balls.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers the soup and shaping the lentil balls; the tomatoes still roast conventionally and the balls still fry conventionally.

1. Roast the tomatoes, onion and garlic in the oven as in the hand method.
2. Cook the lentils on the stovetop as in the hand method, then tip the sticky mixture into the rinsed bowl with the breadcrumbs, onion and salt. Mix 10 sec / speed 4, just to combine evenly, then tip out to cool and shape.
3. Rinse the bowl. Roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic and broth into the bowl. Blend 1 min / speed 8, ramping up gradually, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Fry the lentil balls in a pan as in the hand method, and serve them on top of the soup.

Notes

• Cook the lentils well past the point of merely soft, until genuinely sticky and thick. Undercooked lentils give a crumbly mixture that falls apart the moment it hits the hot oil; the mixture should hold together readily when pressed.
• Let the lentil mixture cool before shaping. Shaping it hot is unpleasant and the balls hold together better once slightly firmed by cooling.
• Roasting the tomatoes rather than simmering them raw gives this soup real depth, the same principle as any roasted tomato soup.
• The soup keeps for 4 days in the fridge; the lentil balls are best fried fresh, though the shaped, unfried balls can be refrigerated a day ahead.

Ingredient substitutions

• Red lentils cook down fastest and stickiest; other lentil varieties work but need longer cooking and more mashing to reach the same texture.
• Breadcrumbs can be swapped for the same weight of cooked, mashed potato for a gluten-free version.
• A pinch of cumin or smoked paprika in the lentil mixture is a good, non-traditional addition.