Description
A bowl of creamy tomato basil bisque is the perfect comfort food to indulge in at the end of a long day, with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Basil Oil:
- 1 cup lightly packed basil leaves
- 2 cups olive oil
For the Soup:
- 8 large ripe red tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for a vegetarian version)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- 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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Lunch
Keywords: basil, tomato, bisque, cream, soup