Tomato Basil Bisque

‘Tis the season…for soup! I am definitely one of those weirdos who loves to eat soup year round, and yes, I do mean even in the dog days of summer. However, I don’t think anyone can argue with the fact that soups are the perfect winter dish – warm, satisfying, and the overall epitome of comfort food.  While there are some great seasonal dishes, such as butternut squash soup, my all-time favorite is tomato soup.  I have so many memories from my childhood of eating grilled cheese sandwiches with Campbell’s tomato soup (come on, who DOESN’T?!) after playing outside on cold fall and winter days.  This soup is a slightly more grown-up version, but that doesn’t make it any less tasty.

Tomato Basil Bisque

What You’ll Need:

2 cans crushed tomatoes

16 fluid oz. chicken broth

18 basil leaves (one large handful), minced

1 cup fat free half-and-half

3 tbsp. butter cut into 1tbsp. chunks

2 tbsp. sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

What To Do:

Drain the tomatoes into a large soup pan and add the chicken broth.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

While the tomatoes are simmering, rinse the basil then roughly chop it into thin strips.

After the 10 minutes is up, add the basil and the sugar.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Finally, add the half-and-half and cubed butter.  Mix well, and cook on low until the butter has fully melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I served this as an appetizer at dinner with some crusty Italian bread and OH MY GOD IT WAS AMAZING.  Sorry – I couldn’t restrain myself.  But seriously, this was some damn good soup.  I had to stop myself from eating so much of it that I wouldn’t have room for dinner.  This tastes exactly like the best tomato bisque you’ve had at a restaurant.  It’s got a strong tomato flavor, although it’s creamy enough to cut the acidity.  The basil isn’t overpowering but you could certainly add more or less depending on how strong of a flavor you like.  The best part of this soup is that it’s so easy to make – it only involves 6 ingredients! I was making this while preparing the rest of our dinner and I barely had to worry about it, beyond dumping things in the pot at different times. This also makes a giant amount of soup – I can’t wait for leftovers at lunch with a piping hot grilled cheese!