No Campbell's Here

It's that time of year here, when you think winter is NEVER going to end, when there is a dearth of sunshine, and grey is the dominant colour.

Yesterday I fought back with tomato soup. Not the Campbell's stuff out of a can, but the next best thing to sunshine in a bowl--homemade tomato soup. I've been making this recipe for years, and don't even know its origins. Here it is:

Tomato Soup

1 small onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 28-oz can tomatoes (no salt), with liquid

2 ½ tsp sugar

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp unbleached flour

2 c water

Place onion, tomatoes, celery, sugar, paprika, basil, pepper, and salt in a large pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, stir the flour into the oil over low heat. Add the water with a whisk and stir over medium/high heat until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.

Add the oil/flour/water mixture to the tomato mixture and, using a hand blender, puree until smooth.
Enjoy.