Cream of tomato soup should be gentle and soothing. This is a perfect example. Adding baking soda to the tomatoes keeps the milk from curdling.

Ingredients

　　5 tablespoons butter

　　1/2 cup chopped onion

　　4 tablespoons flour

　　4 cups milk

　　1/2 bay leaf

　　1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

　　1 1/2 teaspoons salt

　　1/2 teaspoon baking soda

　　3 cups tomatoes, chopped (fresh or canned)

　　Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is softened but not browned. Sprinkle the flour over the butter mixture and continue to stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, bay leaf, sugar, and salt and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the milk, and bring just to a simmer. Remove from the heat and put through a strainer. Taste and correct seasonings. Reheat before serving.

　　Excerpted by permission of Knopf from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of America's Great Classic Cookbook, copyright © 1996 by Marion Cunningham. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.