Week 35, Recipe 1: Panera Bread's Creamy Tomato Soup

NOTES

• I found this recipe online and said it's from the 2006 Panera Bread Cookbook. I modified it just a little bit. Delicious!
• I made a creamy tomato soup not that long ago but I was craving it again and I think this recipe (with the croutons) might be one of my favorite soups!
• I used high quality canned tomatoes but can't wait to try this again in the summer with fresh.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk (2 % or whole), 1 c. cream
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (neutralizes the bitterness of the tomatoes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (helps keep the milk from curdling)
• 4-5 cups chopped canned tomatoes (or fresh) (about 1 1/2 large cans)
• 4-5 leaves of basil, cut into thin slices with a kitchen scissors (optional)
• 1 loaf of asiago cheese bread
• Butter to spread on bread

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt the butter in a soup pot and add the onion. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is softened but not browned.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the butter mixture and continue to stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Slowly add the 3 c. milk, 1/2 bay leaf, sugar, pepper and salt and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened.
4. Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes.
5. Add the tomatoes to the milk, and bring just to a simmer. Stir in the 1 c. cream.
6. Remove from the heat and puree in batches in a food processor or blender or use an immersion blender (I don't have one but it's on my wish list!).
7. Taste and correct seasonings (adding more salt and/or pepper if necessary).
8. For croutons - Cut the bread into thick slices and butter both sides then cut into bite-size cubes.Bake cubed bread at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.
9. Top soup with slivered basil and asiago croutons.