Creamy Garlic Tomato Soup

 The ingredient list for this soup may not look very impressive, but trust me.  It.  Is.  GOOD.  Really good.  It's kind of creamy since it's roux based and has milk, but is not too bad for you.  The flavor is great and the garlic stands out.  It also takes less than 10 minutes to cook!  Perfect to whip up on a busy night with salad and bread or a good ol' grilled cheese sandwich, which is how I served it tonight, using the rosemary wheat bread I made earlier today.

Credit for this recipe goes to Inge, the mother of the wonderful family I stayed with when I lived in Austria.  Inge was a fantastic cook and could make anything taste good.  She often made a variation of this soup using whatever tomato products she had on hand.  The best version used tomato puree she canned from her own tomatoes every summer instead of the broth, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.  She also used a little cream instead of milk and a bit of beef bouillon, but it was essentially the same!  I've fiddled with the recipe a bit since I sadly do not have the home canned tomato puree, and this is the best version I've come up with.  Enjoy!

Creamy Garlic Tomato Soup

3 T butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T flour
2 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 C milk
16 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat.  Add garlic and saute until lightly golden, then whisk in flour.  Whisk and cook until roux is light golden, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in broth, 1/4 C at a time, making sure mixture is smooth before adding more.  Whisk in milk, tomato sauce, and tomato paste until smooth.  Cook until soup comes to a boil and simmer for two minutes, stirring constantly.  Add salt if necessary, but taste it first because it should be salty enough from the broth and tomato products.

Yield: 4 servings