BY BRITTANY CLINE (’16)

This week, I will be trying a recipe for Tomato Bisque!

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 5 cups of chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium, canned
• 1 can of whole, peeled tomatoes (with liquid), roughly chopped
• 3 parsley sprigs
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 and ¾ teaspoon of kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat
2. Add the carrots, celery, and garlic, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes
3. Stir in the flour, stirring for 3 minutes
4. Pour in the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil while whisking
5. Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot
6. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes
7. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
8. When the soup base is cool, remove and discard the herb bundle
9. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth
10. Using a sieve over a large bowl, strain the tomato puree
11. Pour the puree back into the pot and reheat over medium heat
12. Whisk the heavy cream and salt into the soup and season with pepper
13. Divide among soup bowls
14. Enjoy!

My Thoughts:

The tomato bisque had such a rich flavor with all of the seasonings adding a zest to it. The fresh sprigs of fresh thyme is a wonderful additive to this bisque and creates that fresh taste.

Suggestions:

I don’t have very many suggestions due to the strong flavor, however, with that being said, I would maybe use less thyme, depending on how strong of that tang you want in the soup.