We have made a video of this procedure and it is up now. To view it, go to Videos.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the white sauce: - 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk, heated
Sauté the onion and celery ( in 1/2 tablespoon butter) over low medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add the canned tomatoes and the flavorings and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pour the tomato mixture into a blender and process until it is smooth.
Rinse out the pan, then make the white sauce. Using the same pan, start by melting the ( 1 1/2 tablespoons of) butter. Stir in the flour. Keep stirring and heating until the butter-flour mixture is bubbly. Let it cook for a minute or two and continue to stir.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the hot milk. Put it back on the heat and continue stirring and heat it until the sauce thickens. It may be hard to recognize this since this is a thin sauce. You'll see steam rising from the pan and the sauce will look slightly thick on the spoon.
Remove it from the heat and pour in the tomato mixture. Stir until it is evenly blended, then return the pan to the heat. The soup is finished, it just needs to be heated to serving temperature. Be careful that it does not boil as milk mixtures should not boil.
Note about this recipe: the simplest recipe I found was in an old cookbook that belonged to my mother: America's Cook Book which was published in 1938. Basically, it says that you can make a cream soup with various vegetables if you just match the quantity of white sauce to the quantity of cooked vegetables. I also consulted my Peter Christian's Recipes for ideas about seasonings.
Happy cooking,
Ruth Ann