Carol's Tomato Soup Recipe

Chris' Mom made this tomato soup and canned it. It was always really good so we would try to snatch a few jars when we visited her the two years we lived in Utah. I started making it when we moved to CA because I actually had dirt to grow tomatoes. The difference between this recipe and others I've seen, is that this doesn't use chicken broth or anything to water it down. It's like having a big serving of straight vegetables (with a little butter). I freeze it in quart freezer bags and then peel the bags off the frozen soup and put it right in the pot to thaw.

Carol's Tomato Soup

Makes about 7 quarts of soup. Freezes well - reheat on stove to smooth out lumps, not the microwave.

10 quarts fresh tomatoes, quartered (leave the seeds and skins on)

5 medium onions

5 stalks of celery

10 sprigs parsley

2 bay leaves

Cook until tender. Puree a few cups at a time starting out on a slow speed (use a folded towel to press down on the lid of blender so boiling hot tomato doesn't come shooting out.) Strain puree and return to pot, or use a food mill instead of blender/strainer.

Reserve 1 cup of the liquid and let cool a little.

Bring strained tomato to a boil. Make a roux by mixing together:

10 Tb flour

10 Tb softened butter

Then mix in 1 cup of cooled tomato juice from previous step so its thin enough to pour. Whisk into boiling soup and let boil for a few more minutes to thicken.

Add:

2 Tb salt

5 Tb sugar

pepper to taste.

Serve hot or chill then freeze.

This recipe is easy to adjust for the size of your pot. Everything is easily divisible by 10 (Oh, come on! You can do it - 1 quart of tomatoes, half a table spoon of sugar, half an onion, etc. Just use one bay leaf and taste after adding a little salt to see if you want more. You can always add salt when you serve it.)

Its hot and sticky making this soup in the summer - but you'll love it in January!