TOMATO****Tomato Bisque

By Unblond1

Ingredients

• 6 servings
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 Spanish onion, chopped
• 1 leek, sliced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• good pinch of sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• pinch of cayenne
• 5 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
• 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes (with liquid), roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 3 parsley sprigs
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 scant teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

* Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.

* Stir in the flour and spices and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the broth, tomato paste and tomatoes and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

* When the soup base is cool, remove and discard the herb bundle. Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth or puree in the pot using a hand blender. Using a sieve over a large bowl, strain the tomato puree. Return the puree to the pot and taste for seasoning. I added a scant teaspoon of sugar at this point to balance the acidity. Reheat over medium heat.

* Whisk the cream into the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and serve immediately, topped with homemade parmesan croutons.