For the meatballs:

15 grams raw long-grain rice

180 grams minced pork

180 grams minced beef

1 small egg, beaten

1/8 tsp ground cumin

3 large fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 tsp dried oregano

50 grams white onion, minced

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the soup:

15ml cooking oil

1 large shallot, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

450 grams canned Italian tomato puree

180 grams carrots, cut into 5mm cubes

180 grams small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut on the diagonal into 5mm slices

500ml chicken or vegetable stock

Fresh green chillies, finely chopped, to taste

Fresh coriander leaves

Soak the rice in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes then drain. Combine the pork and beef with the rice, egg, cumin, oregano, mint, onion and salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into balls about 1.5cm in diameter, place them on a plastic wrap-lined tray and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat the oil in a soup pot, add the shallot and garlic then cook until soft. Add the tomato puree and stir over a high heat for about two minutes. Add the carrot, zucchini, stock, chilli, salt and pepper and 1 litre of water. Bring to the simmer then add the meatballs. Lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Taste for seasoning then add fresh coriander leaves just before serving.

White bean soup with fennel, pancetta and roasted garlic

400 grams dry white beans such as Great Northern or cannellini

1 whole garlic bulb

About 30ml olive oil

20ml cooking oil

20 grams unsalted butter

2 leeks, white and pale green part only

2 medium-sized carrots, diced

1 large potato, peeled and diced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed of its tough fibres then diced

1 bay leaf

200 grams pancetta, cut into slices about 3mm thick

250ml chicken stock

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Top-quality extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

Cover the beans with water and soak overnight. Drain them, rinse with cold water then drain again.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Trim the top from the bulb of garlic, cutting just enough to expose the very top of the cloves. Place the whole bulb on a square of aluminium foil and drizzle with 30ml of olive oil. Loosely wrap the foil around the garlic and roast at 200 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the garlic is very soft. Allow to cool then squeeze the flesh from each clove. Roughly mash the garlic with a fork.

Cut the leeks in half and wash thoroughly between the leaves to remove any dirt. Cut the leeks on the diagonal into 5mm pieces. Heat the cooking oil and butter in a soup pot, add the leek and pancetta and cook over a low heat for about three minutes. Stir in the carrot, potato and fennel and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Add the bay leaf, roasted garlic, chicken stock and about

1 litre of water. Bring to a simmer, turn the flame to very low, cover the pan with a tightly fitting lid and cook, stirring often, until the beans are tender. Add more water if necessary then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle about a quarter of the beans into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, then stir back into the soup. Remove the bay leaf, ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle each portion with extra virgin olive oil.

Mushroom barley soup

15 grams dried sliced porcini mushrooms

30 grams unsalted butter, or more as needed

30ml cooking oil

450 grams mixed fresh mushrooms (such as button, shiitake, morels and chanterelles), cleaned then halved or quartered, depending on size

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium-sized carrots, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 large potato, peeled and diced

About 1.5 litres beef, chicken or vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 fresh thyme sprig

100 grams pearl barley, rinsed

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Rinse the dried porcini briefly in cold water then soak them in 100ml of warm water until they are fully hydrated. Squeeze the water from the porcini and strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve to remove any grit. Set aside the porcini and the soaking liquid.

Heat the oil in a soup pan and cook the onion until soft. Add the carrots, celery and potato and cook, stirring often, for about three minutes.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Cook the fresh mushrooms, seasoned with salt and pepper, in batches until they start to soften but before they start giving off a lot of liquid. When each batch is ready, transfer it to the pot with the other vegetables. Continue cooking in batches, adding butter as needed.

When all the mushrooms are cooked, add the soaked porcini and the soaking liquid to the pan. Add the stock, bay leaf, thyme and barley. Bring to the simmer then lower the heat, cover with the lid and cook until the barley is tender. Add more liquid if necessary and season to taste. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig before serving.

styling Vivian Herijanto