Clear Tomato Soup with Herb Crêpes Yield: 6 servings This dish is only worth making if you have the sweetest summer tomatoes and freshest herbs on hand. The strongly flavored, clear broth can be garnished with shrimp, stuffed pasta, or tender vegetables, and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I sometimes add a dash of Tabasco sauce to give the broth a little extra spice and complexity.

Wine suggestion Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc (light, crisp, with grassy, mineral characteristics)

Herb Crêpes

1/2 cup instant-blending Wondra flour
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup cold water
1 large egg 1 large egg white
1 Tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons clarified butter (see note)
Pinch of salt

Tomato Soup

6 pounds vine-ripened plum tomatoes, quartered
7 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground white pepper to taste

For the crêpes, in a blender or mixer, combine the flour, milk, water, whole egg, egg white and salt and blend until smooth. Pour into a measuring cup with a lip and stir in the herbs. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 teaspoons of the clarified butter. Pour about 1/4 cup of the crêpe batter into the pin and tilt it in all directions so that a thin coating forms, then quickly pour out any excess. Cook until the bottom of the crêpe is lightly browned, lifting the edges to check, then flip over and cook for 15 to 20 seconds more. Remove from the pan and set aside. Repeat for the remaining 5 crêpes, stacking them on top of each other as you remove them from the pan. Roll the stack of crêpes into a tube and julienne them crosswise. Set aside.

For the soup, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, purée the tomatoes for 3 to 4 minutes, pulsing on and off and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the purée is very smooth and watery. Pour the purée into a large saucepan, add the egg whites and salt and whisk together. Slowly bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking continuously so that the liquid doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. When the liquid comes to a boil, decrease the heat to very low, so that it just barely simmers, and cook completely undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Line a sieve with a double thickness of slightly dampened cheesecloth. Without disturbing the egg white crust which will have formed on the soup, slowly pour the mixture through the sieve into a clean pan (all the skin and impurities, including the egg white film, will be left behind in the sieve); drain about 15 minutes.

To serve, gently reheat the soup when ready to serve. Add the white pepper and ladle into warmed serving bowls. Garnish each bowl with a jumble of the julienned crêpes.

Note: To clarify butter, in a heavy saucepan, melt 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature) over low heat without stirring or disturbing the pan. Turn off the heat and, with a large flat spoon, gently skim off the white froth that rises to the top. Carefully pour the clear yellow "clarified" butter (about 3/4 cup) into a container, leaving behind the milky white residue at the bottom of the pan. It's awkward to make clarified butter in smaller quantities than 3/4 cup, but it keeps (covered) in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.