What is bisque? Is it a fancy name for soup or is it a seafood soup made with dairy, and if so what is tomato bisque? Those were the questions my friend posed a couple weeks ago. From our text conversation I assured him that a bisque is a creamy soup made with the concentrated, strained stock of crustaceans like lobster and shrimp. Creamy soups made with roasted or pureed veggies and fruits can also be called bisque as well.
Tomato bisque and grilled cheese sandwiches. My friend hinted that he’d come over to my apartment one fall afternoon to cook this dish, an all-time American comfort food. I was excited to taste it, don’t think I’ve ever had tomato bisque before and though I prefer a heavier, meaty soup anything warm and hearty to combat the cold windy days we’ve been experiencing is welcomed.
My pushy take over nature landed me the happy job of making the bisque. Hate to say it but my friend, my dear friend, was taking too long – LOL. Text invites to my “brunch at home” were sent out where my friends assumed the bar tending and DJ responsibilities. Two areas that EVERYONE knows I lack. Not to toot my horn but my first try at a roasted tomato bisque was a success. And having time to sit overnight, the flavors heightened leaving me with the most delicious lunch for work today.
- I used different tomatoes like Heirloom, Plum, Campari and Kumato to make the bisque.
- This recipe can be cut in half if you plan on making it for yourself and of course it freezes well.
- I had chicken stock in the house so I used that, you can use veggie stock to make this dish vegetarian/vegan. Same goes for the heavy cream, unsweetened coconut cream can be used.
Olive oil
4 lbs. of tomatoes
1 whole onion, medium chop
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 ½ cup of leeks, medium chop
5 sprigs of parsley
5 sprigs of thyme
1 tbsp. of tomato paste
1 tsp of Geera
1 tbsp. of light brown sugar
1 cup of heavy cream
1 qt. of chicken stock, warm
Salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a roasting pan, place the tomatoes (halved and drizzled with olive oil.) Roast for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and chop coarsely.
On high heat, add enough oil to coat the bottom of a large stockpot, sweat the garlic, chopped onions and leeks before adding the tbsp. of tomato paste. Stir for an additional minute before placing the roasted tomatoes in the pot. Add the qt. of warm stock, parsley, thyme 1 ½ tbsp. of salt and 1 tbsp. of black pepper. Combine and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and let simmer until the liquid is reduced by one-third, 30 minutes. Remove the thyme stems.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth (or puree in a regular blender and return to the pot). Reduce the heat to low, add the heavy cream, geera, sugar and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.
Enjoy!
