From the menu of ... Sweet Tomatoes

A: The folks at Sweet Tomatoes restaurants have always been generous about sharing their soup recipes. There are 120 salad buffet-style restaurants across the western, southern and eastern United States, with four here in the metro Atlanta area. Their daily selection of made-from-scratch soups, salads and muffins rotates throughout the year, but the Cream of Mushroom soup is on the menu every Monday.

This soup comes together in remarkably short time and is full of deep mushroom flavor. Chicken and beef bases are concentrated chicken and beef stock and can be found in the soup section of your grocery store. Don’t be put off by the large quantity this recipe makes. Serve some tonight, and any leftover soup will freeze very successfully. You also could cut the recipe in half.

Is there a restaurant recipe you'd like to make at home? Tell us and we'll try to get it. We'll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can't answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to svanatten@ajc.com and put "From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.

Sweet Tomatoes’ Cream of Mushroom Soup

Hands on: 15 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Makes 1 gallon

10 cups sliced mushrooms, 1/4-inch thick (about 2 pounds)

2 cups sliced celery, 1/2-inch thick (about 3 large ribs)

1 stick (4 ounces) plus 5 tablespoons salted butter, divided

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

9 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons beef base

2 tablespoons chicken base

2 cups whole milk

2 cups half-and-half

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, combine mushrooms, celery, 1 stick butter and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 15 minutes or until vegetables have cooked down and released their juices. Remove from heat and set aside. Do not discard liquid.

While mushrooms and celery are cooking, in a large saucepan, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter over medium heat and stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add water in 1/2 cup increments, stirring between each addition to be sure no lumps form. Add beef base and chicken base and bring mixture to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Soup will thicken. Stir in milk, half-and-half and reserved mushrooms and celery, with their cooking liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Per 1-cup serving: 173 calories (percent of calories from fat, 71), 4 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 14 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 41 milligrams cholesterol, 171 milligrams sodium.