Creamy Tomato Soup
Posted
Thu, 06/29/06
Whenever my parents travel to see me, they spend a night in Missoula, Montana. They stop for breakfast or lunch at the 4B's Restaurant, which has locations in several other Montana cities. (Note: 4B's was purchased by Star Buffet in 2007).
For this last go-around, Mum and Dad brought us a container full of old fashioned cream of tomato soup from the 4B's. It beats any tomato soup I have eaten, hands down. The soup is creamy, delicious and obviously homemade.
On the way back home a few weeks ago, Mum and Dad stopped at the 4B's again, this time for lunch. They purchased more of the soup for their neighbor, and asked if the recipe was available to the general public. The cashier told them no, but then subtly directed them to a picture on the wall which contained text of the recipe. Mum wrote it down, and as soon as she and Dad returned home they e-mailed me a copy.
Creamy Tomato Soup
4B's Restaurant
3 cans whole tomatoes (28 oz. each), packed in liquid, drained, liquid reserved
Place oven rack in the upper third of oven. Preheat the oven to 450-degrees F. Line jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Put the tomatoes from two cans in a single layer on the pan or cookie sheet. Roast tomatoes for thirty minutes. Remove from sheet and peel off clinging foil; cut off browned parts. Cut each tomato in half. Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan. Over medium heat, sauté onion for about ten minutes, or until soft. Remove pan from heat and stir in flour. Return pan to medium heat and whisk in chicken stock or broth. Stir in two cups of the reserved tomato liquid, the wine, tomato paste, lemon juice, sugar and roasted tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about ten minutes to blend, stirring occasionally.
Remove tomatoes from soup and blend in food processor with some of the liquid; puree. Set aside and puree the rest of the mixture; combine in a pot and season with salt. Warm the soup over low heat; add the cream and stir to blend. Serve hot.
Tips: Save the tomatoes from the third can for another use. The soup can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to two days. Reheat over low heat; do not boil.
I made the soup today, using less of the diced tomato than called for. Big mistake. The tomato adds to the flavor and color of the soup. Since I don't care for a lot of tomato floating around in my soup, I removed bits from my individual bowl after serving.
The heavy cream needs to be heated slowly – and separately – before being added to the other cooked ingredients. The recipe works. We came very close to the taste of the original 4B's product. I can't recommend it highly enough.
The following is a brief history of the 4B's Restaurant:
When Bill Hainline started the 4B's in 1947, he made sure to provide the best quality food and service around. Realizing the value of a dollar, he also made sure that a family could afford to eat at his restaurant. This line of thinking is what has kept the 4B's in business for three generations. 4B's is still a family owned business today, run by Jeff Hainline.
And here is a history of their tomato soup:
Back when Bill Hainline, Sr. worked as a cook for the logging camps of the Anaconda Mining Company he learned that the loggers were a hard working bunch who put away thousands of calories a day in order to keep up their strength during their long work days. While they loved the pancakes, fresh breads, pies, all types of breakfast meats, roasts for dinner, the favorite item of every logger in the camp was huge bowls of steaming tomato soup that Bill made fresh every day. Of all the soups that he made, this one was their favorite and it has grown to be "4B's World Famous Tomato Soup." It has been recognized in numerous national magazines, and has consistently won best soup throughout the state in many city-wide competitions.
Ironically, my father used to work for the Anaconda Mining Company.
*POSTSCRIPT 08/04/06: I froze unused portions of the tomato soup on 06/29/06, and then defrosted it on 08/04/06. After heating it slowly in a pan, the soup tasted just as good as when I made it more than one month ago.
Tags: Food Photos;
Restaurants;
Soups & Stews
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