Recipe: Tomato Basil Bisque

This recipe for Tomato Basil Bisque evolved over time, as most recipes do. I tried using plain tomatoes… the soup was a bit too bland unless I wanted to make it very rich… which I didn’t. I tried fresh tomatoes and they ended up a lot of work and frankly, I don’t think they were as good as when I used canned. I tried canned whole tomatoes and I tried diced…. diced won out.

The final recipe is a wonderfully rich flavorful tomato bisque… good enough for a special occasion and good enough for those “soup days”. You can add as much or as little of the cream as you wish… remember half and half has less butterfat than heavy cream but is also thinner…

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy soup.



Recipe: Tomato Basil Bisque

All you need:

2 cans (14.5 oz) Del Monte Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano
2 ½ cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter, divided
¼ cup finely chopped shallots
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste.
About ½ cup heavy cream
About 1/3 cup half and half
Dash of sherry. (optional)

All you need to do:

In a large pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter.

Add the shallots and stirring occasionally, cook for 1-2 minutes until translucent.

Add the chicken stock and canned tomatoes…. Sprinkle in the chopped parsley.

Heat until simmering…. then cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a sieve, pushing with the back of a cooking spoon to get all possible liquid into a large measuring cup or bowl..
Pour the sieved soup back into the pot.

In a small pot over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.

Whisk in 2 tablespoons flour (make a roux)… it will be a paste.

Add some of the stock mixture into the flour mixture, whisking vigorously to remove all lumps.

Heat until thick…. about 2 minutes.

Pour the flour/stock mixture into the big pot and whisk until thick…

Remove from the heat.

Add the creams until desired consistency… salt and pepper to taste.

Just before serving add a dash of sherry if using.

Makes about 2 large bowls or 4 small cups of soup.