Mediterranean Tomato Basil Bisque Recipes

TOMATO BASIL BISQUE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in butter until vegetables are tender, but not brown.
• Add tomato juice, chicken broth, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Place half of the soup in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover; blend or process until smooth. Repeat with remaining mixture.
• Return all of the mixture to the saucepan. Stir in whipping cream and sugar; heat through. Stir in fresh basil. Ladle into warm soup bowls. Top each serving with some of the pesto and garnish with fresh basil leaves, if you like. Makes 8 side-dish servings.

CREAMY TOMATO BASIL BISQUE

Steps:

• To make the basil oil, puree basil leaves together with oil in a high-speed blender until smooth.
• Strain through a fine mesh sieve or chinois twice. Do not press down on the mixture or you'll end up with a bitter note to the oil.
• Let sit for 2 hours before storing in an airtight container. While the basil oil is resting, start on the soup.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. On the blossom end of each tomato (opposite the stem), score with an "X" with a paring knife. Add tomatoes to the boiling water.
• Boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the water to a bowl filled with ice water. Remove the tomatoes from water and gently peel.
• Remove the seeds from each tomato. Add tomato pieces to a large bowl. Add the seeds and goop that you remove to a sieve placed over the bowl of tomatoes. Mash the innards through a bowl to get all the flavor from those, without the seeds. Set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened, approximately 7 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, chicken stock, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid reduces by one quarter, approximately 20 minutes.
• Turn off heat and cool the mixture for about 10 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until it is smooth. If you don't have a stick blender, you can also use a blender or food processor, working in batches.
• Bring the pureed soup to a simmer over medium heat, then add cream and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Ladle into bowls, and garnish with an extra drizzle of heavy cream and basil oil.

CHUNKY TOMATO-BASIL BISQUE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute the celery, onion and red pepper in butter for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 40 minutes. , Remove from the heat. Stir in the basil, sugar, salt and pepper; cool slightly. Transfer half of the soup mixture to a blender. While processing, gradually add cream; process until pureed. Return to the pan; heat through (do not boil).

TOMATO BISQUE ON STEROIDS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large, tall pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are slightly opaque, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes, being careful not to brown garlic.
• Pour in 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Stir in paprika, cayenne pepper, and chipotle pepper. Add rice and reduce heat to medium-low or low to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until rice is tender and celery has softened, about 45 minutes. Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in heavy cream and sugar, and season with salt and pepper as needed.
• Stir in diced tomatoes and remaining can of crushed tomatoes. Cook over medium heat until warmed through, 5 to 7 minutes. Ladle soup into warm bowls. Spoon remaining cream in spirals on each bowl and top with basil.

HOW TO MAKE TOMATO BISQUE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion and celery with a pinch of salt until onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour chicken broth and tomatoes into onion mixture. Bring to a simmer and season with paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Turn heat to low and stir rice into soup; skim foam occasionally and simmer until rice and vegetables are very tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Add sugar.
• Blend soup with an immersion blender in the pot until smooth. Whisk 1/2 cup cream into soup and adjust levels of salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and sugar. If soup is too thick, add more broth; if soup is too thin, cook, stirring often, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Ladle into warmed bowls; garnish each bowl with a drizzle of cream and top with about 1 teaspoon chopped basil.

TOMATO BASIL BISQUE

Steps:

• Saute the onions and garlic in the butter until soft.
• Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, and bay leaves; simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice, and puree them in a blender or food processor with the cream cheese.
• Mix the puree with the reserved juice.
• Add the light cream and season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
• Add freshly chopped sweet basil.
• Simmer for 10 minute and serve with bread bowls.