Cream of Tomato Soup

Cream of Tomato Soup

I made this soup for a dinner with friends on Friday night.It was a big hit. Hands down this is my favorite recipe for tomato soup. It is fast and freezes well, too. I picked about 5 gallons of tomatoes today so I will be making lots of soup!!!

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

Pinch of sugar, optional

pinch of cloves

1 small bay leaf

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1 t. salt

3 c. milk

Peel and chop tomatoes. Place tomatoes in saucepan with onion, celery, sugar (if adding), cloves and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and cover, simmering 15 minutes. Melt butter in a large saucepan then stir in flour and salt. Cook mixture until bubbly. Add milk and cook until thickened stirring constantly. Puree tomato mixture through strainer, food mill or in a blender or processor. Add to milk mixture and heat through. Serves 6.

Note: You can add other stuff to the soup. I have added shrimp in the past- lobster was suggested at dinner on Friday. Have fun with it.

Note: To peel tomatoes place whole tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or two. Then place tomatoes in cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Cut out the cores and the peels will slip right off.

Blanching tomatoes

Cooling down in ice water