This ISN'T your typical tomato soup

Ramekins, the cooking school Cherrie and I visited last Saturday and Sunday is in Sonoma. It's been in existence for a long time, and first came to my attention because Joanne Weir, one of my all-time favorite cooking instructors, mentioned that she occasionally demonstrated there. Also, Tarla Fallgatter, a local Orange County teacher, also taught there in years past. Over the years I've looked at Ramekins' website and watched who was visiting there to teach, when, etc. One trip to wine country I even dropped by the school and peeked in to see what it was like, and was fortunate to be able to see some of the guest rooms (it's a B&B also). That's when I decided that someday I'd go for a class and an overnight.

The cooking school is housed in a lovely building about 3 blocks from the main square in downtown Sonoma, just next door to The General's Daughter, a fabulous restaurant we visited one night last week. Unlike some cooking schools which are side rooms of cookware stores (often cramped), this one was set up to be a cooking demo and participation kitchen. Actually the building also has a very large banquet room (and accompanying commercial kitchen) to seat about 100+ people, and they do large parties, weddings, etc. there. A lovely patio adds to the charm of the place. In the picture, the banquet room is on the left, the kitchen school on the right, the B&B rooms upstairs (which are just lovely) and the delightful patio under those leafy trees.

The cooking school kitchen has ample room for seating or prep tables. Most of Ramekins' classes are participation style (you are given an overview of the class, then everyone digs in and prepares a part of the meal). We chopped, minced, sautéed, pureed, tossed, etc. whatever our assignment was, then went to tables outside (both days were just beautiful weather, ideal for sitting out under their big shady trees) and the staff served us the meal we'd all fixed.

So, on Saturday, the class was French Bistro favorites. We had the soup (below), a country paté, mussels in broth, steak with Béarnaise sauce, pommes Anna and chocolate soufflés. I doubt I'll make any of the other dishes, but the tomato soup was outstanding. One point the teacher, Lisa Lavagetto (the cooking school manager), told us was the importance of using only San Marzano canned tomatoes. You may already know about these, but I didn't, and having tasted them right out of the can today, I can definitely say they're
far sweeter and more tasty than any canned tomato I've ever met before. They're not at your neighborhood chain grocery - you'll need to find an upscale grocery or an Italian deli. The 28 ounce cans I bought were $3.69 each, but well worth the expense. The soup isn't hard to make, at all. You just have to have the ingredients at the ready - onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, the San Marzano tomatoes, some fresh herbs, chicken broth. Oh, and some heavy cream. This isn't exactly low calorie or low fat, but a cup of heavy cream for 8 people is only 2 tablespoons per person. That's not bad! And this soup will definitely be a staple in my repertoire from now on. I doubled the recipe so I'll have some to freeze.

Cream of Tomato Soup
Recipe :Lisa Lavagetto, cooking school manager at Ramekins, Sonoma, California

Servings: 8
4 tablespoons butter
2 pieces thick-sliced bacon -- diced
1/2 large onion -- peeled, diced
1 stick celery -- diced
1 medium carrot - - peeled & diced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons tomato paste
6 cups chicken broth -- or vegetable broth
15 ounces chopped tomatoes -- San Marzano brand, with juice
2 sprigs rosemary -- fresh
5 sprigs thyme -- fresh
1 whole bay leaf kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream
3 cups croutons -- homemade, not packaged

1. In a large, heavy bottomed pot melt the better. Add bacon, onion, carrot and celery. Sauté until lightly browned. Mix in the flour, forming a roux, then cook until the mixture resembles a fine sandy texture. Do not burn. Remove from heat and add the tomato paste. Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the 6 cups broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to break up any tomato paste chunks.
2. Combine the fresh herbs and bay leaf into a bouquet garni (tie up with a string) and add to the soup. Add tomatoes with juice and season lightly. Simmer for 40-45 minutes, occasionally skimming off any fat that might arise to the top.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the croutons (chunks of white bread drizzled with olive oil and butter, then baked or drizzle olive oil and butter in a frying pan and brown them).
4. Remove the herbs (bouquet garni) from the soup and discard. Use a stick blender (or food processor or blender) and liquidize the soup until smooth. Or, if you prefer to have a bit of texture, just blend the ingredients part way, then return to the pot and add the cream. Adjust the consistency - if the soup is a little too thick, add a bit more broth or cream. If you prefer a very smooth soup you can strain through a conical strainer at this point. Adjust the seasonings again, then ladle into bowls, top with some hot croutons and serve.

Serving Ideas : The original recipe called for using puff pastry, cut into squares and rolled out thin, then draped over an ovenproof bowl filled with the soup, then baked at 425° for 10-15 minutes until toasty crisp. We in the class felt that the pastry was very hard to cut - how do you do that with only a spoon, but awkward for sure even with a knife or fork when it's perched on top of a bowl. So we all decided that making croutons with butter and olive oil would be a better choice.
NOTES : A serving will be about 1 1/2 cups or less. The instructor highly recommended Swanson's Natural Goodness chicken broth, but it's too high in sodium for me, so I used Health Valley. The instructor also mentioned that carrots help round out the flavor of tomatoes - she uses them often in any dish that uses a lot of tomatoes.

Per Serving : 302 Calories; 21g Fat (60.2% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 22g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 59mg Cholesterol; 911mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 4 Fat.

To print the recipe only, click on the title at the top.