| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 appetizer servings |
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon minced bacon (about 1/2 ounce)
- 1 Spanish onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes (with liquid), roughly chopped
- 3 parsley sprigs
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crisp and most of the fat has rendered, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. 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 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. Using a sieve over a large bowl, strain the tomato puree. Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat.
- Whisk the heavy cream and salt into the soup and season with pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls, garnish with the crispy bacon, and serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 351 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 23 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 73 mg |
| Sodium | 1008 mg |
Reviews
Wonderful! I use milk or a mixture of milk and half and half to make it a little less rich. I also add one tablespoon of tomato paste to give a little more tomato flavor. My favorite tomato soup ever
I have never really liked tomato soup. . .until now! This tomato bisque is fantastic! I made as directed except for the bay leaf since I never have them on hand. So, so good! My son just kept saying yum while he ate. I made large crispy croutons to go on top, used a “pretty” drizzle of cream and added just a small sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves on top. Very tasty!
Tasty, but not bisque. Traditional bisque uses seafood stock. This is just creamy tomato soup.
Recipe does not need 1 whole cup of heavy cream. It took away from the fresh tomato taste!
I used heirloom tomatoes that I roasted instead of canned tomatoes. Also used an immersion blender directly in the soup pot. Amazingly delicious
I’ve been making this recipe for years and my family loves it, including my daughter who doesn’t really like tomatoes. I had been craving a good tomato bisque and had put off making it because I thought I would be the only person eating it. I have celiac disease so instead of AP flour, I use the same measurement of mochi (sweet rice or glutinous rice, finely milled) flour. I don’t make it with the bacon and add two tablespoons of butter to make up for the missing bacon fat. I also use an immersion blender and that saves time and dirty dishes, no cooling, no transfer from pot to blender and to another pot, no having to do it in batches, and it doesn’t have to come back up to temp when adding the cream in.
Deeeelicious, had to add more sate though
this soup is amazing WITH moderations. the cups of chicken broth felt a bit absurd, so i only used 2. i’d put one cup in at a time and taste to see how much you want. i also used diced tomatoes instead of whole and used 1/2 cup of cream instead of 1 cup. i didn’t need to strain it once it went in the blender. amazing with some toasted french bread or garlic bread!
Made several times, my family loves it!
Unbelievably tasty! Hey Stephen better when I make it with homegrown tomatoes from my grandfather‘s backyard