Aintopf German soup with chickpeas and meat balls

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   Prepare all the products. Wash tomatoes, bell peppers and herbs, peel onions, carrots and garlic. Drain the liquid from the canned chickpeas.

2. Step 2:

   

   Grate carrots on a fairly large grater, or cut into thin strips. Cut onion and pepper into half rings.

3. Step 3:

   

   Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan with a thick bottom, add chopped vegetables to it and fry, stirring constantly, until cooked. It takes about five minutes.

4. Step 4:

   

   Add mashed tomatoes or tomato puree to the roast, a pinch of sugar, mix everything thoroughly, reduce the heat to a minimum and simmer for a couple of minutes.

5. Step 5:

   

   At this time, prepare minced meat for meat balls. Add to the meat an egg, garlic (passed through a press), a finely chopped onion. Add salt to taste, pepper and a spoonful of breadcrumbs. You can also add your favorite seasonings. Knead everything well until smooth. If the minced meat came out runny, then add a little more breadcrumbs. The consistency of the minced meat should be such that it is possible to roll small balls without difficulty.

7. Step 6:

   

   Cut tomatoes large enough. You can optionally remove the skin from the tomatoes in advance. To do this, pour boiling water over the tomatoes, hold for about a minute, drain the boiling water and carefully remove the peel.

8. Step 7:

   

   Make small meat balls from minced meat. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan, fry the balls on all sides for about two to three minutes.

9. Step 8:

   

   Put tomatoes, chickpeas and meat balls in a pan with frying. Pour over the broth. (You can use any broth: chicken, meat or vegetable. You can even do with ordinary boiling water). The amount of broth can be reduced or increased at will, depending on whether you want to get a thicker soup in the end or not. Add salt to taste. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook under the lid for 10-15 minutes

10. Step 9:

    

    Make the fire to maximum again.Chop the remaining garlic clove finely. Put the finely chopped herbs, garlic and bay leaf in a saucepan. After boiling, remove from heat and let the soup brew under a closed lid for at least 15 minutes. It can be served with sour cream.