El Charro Sopa De Tomate has been served every Friday at El Charro since Monica opened the restaurant in 1922. On hot days, the soup can be turned into a refreshing, chilled gazpacho when you add chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and dashes of Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces. Or, it can be frozen into ice cubes to be used in Bloody Marys.

* Garlic Puree - peel 8 whole heads of garlic by smashing the cloves with the side of a wide knife; the peel will slip off easily then. Put the peeled garlic in a blender with about 2 cups of water, and puree. Drain, if necessary, and store in a tightly closed glass jar in the refrigerator.

In an 8-quart stock pot, bring water and stock to the boil. Meanwhile, in a skillet, lightly brown flour in oil over low heat. Add browned flour to boiling stock. After stock boils 10 minutes and thickens slightly, add tomato puree, onion, salt, garlic and sugar. Add evaporated milk. Set soup aside 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Garnish with chopped eggs, parsley and tortilla chips.

serving.