Pépé Charles’ Tomato Soup With Vermicelli And Soup Meatballs

I don’t think there’s any recipe I’ve made so far that’s as near and dear to my heart as this one is as it’s my late grandfather’s pépé Charles’ soup recipe. Whenever we would go up to him on a Sunday, he’d always have this soup ready for us and I still remember how amazing it smelled in the house as you walked in the door.

When I was about 12 years old I once asked him to write me his recipe, and it’s one of the very few family recipes that I have unfortunately. I really wish I had asked all of my grandparents for some more recipes when I had the chance, but being a 12 year old you don’t really think about those kinds of things just yet of course. The recipe he gave me didn’t contain all the quantities though and he didn’t really write down how he cooked it either so it was a bit of a family effort trying to put the pieces together.

Pépé Charles

My brother had made the soup twice before as well so he was able to tell me what way he did it, and I texted my mom a couple of times for some help too. I tried it again and again over the next few years and have now finally come very close to what it used to be. As I was cooking it the entire house started to smell just like my grandfather’s house would on those Sunday afternoons, and although I only vaguely remembered the flavours, the second I put a spoonful in my mouth I was catapulted back into my childhood and I remembered exactly what it tasted like, it’s funny how food can do that, isn’t it?

Do let me know in the comments below if you have any childhood memories of a special recipe your grandparents made, and whether or not you were lucky enough to have the recipe written down for you to pass on to your children. I honestly can not wait to give the final recipe back to my mom so she can make it for my nieces and nephew whenever they come over for a visit.