I have to admit I am that girl you see at the grocery store sampling soups at the soup bar. And this Tomato Basil Bisque or soup (but let’s go with bisque because it sounds more sophisticated) was inspired from one of those samplings. Anything I try lights up a tiny bulb in my head and I whisper to myself I need to make a video on this. So after sampling the tomato soup one fine afternoon, I brisk walked to the fresh produce, scooped up tomatoes on the vine into the plastic bag until the bag ballooned and threatened to rip, threw in carrots, onions, heavy cream from the refrigerator.
Tomato soup can be boring if you just throw tomatoes and other stuff in a pan and puree them. And people do that! But that’s not fun. I want that roasted punch. I have been hooked on roasting veggies lately. It brings out the sweetness in them and the slightly charred edges are worth picking at. So that’s what I did. Roast the veggies till they blister a bit and puree them. Voila! This is really a no-fail soup that will keep you filling your bowl again and again if only for the aroma of basil. KEY. The bisque is light and creamy. You want to serve it with a slice of buttery toasted baguette. Like my Chicken Tortilla soup and Clam Chowder, this Tomato Basil Soup is not fussy. I don’t like fussy soups and fussy people.
- 6 tomatoes (preferably on the vine)
- ½ medium onion
- 4 carrots
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp crushed chili peppers
- 4-5 basil leaves
- 3 cups chicken stock
- ⅓ cup cream
- salt to taste
- Basil leaves for garnish
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line two baking sheets with foil.
- Slice carrots, onion and tomatoes in circles. Lay tomatoes in one pan and the rest of the veggies in the other. Toss in garlic cloves with the peel on.
- Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle brown sugar and a pinch of salt evenly and give the veggies a toss. The brown sugar will help the veggies caramelize and bring out the sweetness.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. The tomatoes take a little more time so take out the pan with the carrots, onions and garlic early if they look nice and roasted.
- In a pot oven medium heat, melt butter.
- Next, squeeze out the roasted garlic pulp out of the husk and stir for a few seconds.
- Next add tomato paste and crushed chili and stir for a few seconds to bring everything together.
- Tip all the roasted veggies into the pan. Scrape using a spoon if they are stuck to the foil. The charred bits are the best! (Make sure you don't accidentally add in the foil as you scrape.)
- Throw in basil leaves along with chicken stock. Let simmer gently for 3-4 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse together.
- To puree, pour everything into a blender and blend until smooth. If you have an immersion blender, that will work beautifully!
- Now pour the pureed soup back into the saucepan, add in cream, a few basil leaves and stir.
- On very low heat, let the soup warm up.
- Pour your tomato basil soup into bowls and top with a basil leaf and serve alongside a slice of baguette.