• 2 Tbs. butter
• 3 leeks, cleaned, cut lengthwise, thinly sliced
• 1 large clove garlic (or 1 1/2 tsp. minced)
• 1 Tbs. tomato paste
• 2 cans (28 oz. each) diced tomatoes with juice
• 8 oz. (about) vegetable stock, chicken stock or water (or enough to just cover)
• 1/3 C. beurre manie (equal amounts of firm butter and flour mixed until smooth, formed into a ball)
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh dill tops (not seeds)
• Ground nutmeg to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 qt. half-and-half cream

In heavy-bottomed 3 to 4 quart soup pot, melt butter. Add leaks, garlic and tomato paste. Cook until leeks are soft. Add tomatoes with liquid and vegetable stock just to cover tomatoes. Bring mixture to simmer; cook 20 minutes. Add beurre manie, forcing mixture through a sieve into soup. As beurre manie is added, whisk into hot soup. Simmer 15 minutes. Add dill and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Add half-and-half; heat through, but do not boil.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings