Roasted Tomato Bisque

The garden clean out produced more ripe tomatoes, and with the cooler weather a warm tomato soup is in order.  We had grilled cheese sandwiches with the soup--what else??

First step is to cut the tomatoes in half or quarters.  Arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.  I also added some slices of garlic.  

Roast in a 350 oven until nice and soft.

Here are the tomatoes out of the oven.  The aroma is amazing.

Next step, put the tomatoes and all the pan drippings into a large dutch oven.  

Simmer and add the remaining ingredients.

Here's the entire recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

5 1/4 pounds ripe but firm tomatoes, cored and quartered, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

4 carrots, peeled and chopped (I used some canned carrots)

2 shallots, quartered

4 garlic cloves, crushed (I roasted the garlic with my tomatoes)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons dry sherry (I used dry white wine)

1 to 2 cups chicken broth, divided

1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half and half, but go ahead and use cream if you have it)

1 tablespoon basil, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the 3 1/2 pounds of quartered tomatoes, olive oil, light brown sugar, carrots, shallots and garlic, and toss to coat. Season the vegetables lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and roast until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and discard. Transfer the tomato flesh along with the rest of the roasted mixture to a large dutch oven and set aside.
Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, crushed red pepper, tomato paste, dry sherry, remaining 1 3/4 pounds of tomatoes and 1 cup chicken broth to the dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.
Add the heavy cream and return to simmer. Season to taste with salt, and pepper. If desired, add more chicken stock until your desired consistency. Sprinkle each bowl with basil before serving.

Enjoy Friends!

Butternut Squash Soup

It's getting chilly outside!  Time for some soup, not the usual soups you would think of like chicken noodle, vegetable beef, or chili.  Oddly enough I had on hand a beautiful butternut squash.  (I had planned to peel, chop, toss with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast it to have as a side dish.)  Not so fast, this is going to make a savory soup that I've never made before.  So here goes.

 

This recipe is from the Whole Foods website:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash, *fresh or frozen
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used homemade stock)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

*Butternut squash is kinda tough to peel and chop!  Be careful!  Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, then using a sharp knife, chop into segments and then into chunks.  The squash has seeds that will need to be cleaned out.

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add carrot, celery and onion. 

Cook until vegetables have begun to soften and onion turns translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.

 Stir in butternut squash, thyme, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. (Note, I also added two bay leaves)

Use an immersion blender to purée soup. 

Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully purée in batches in an upright blender. 

Lastly, I stirred in a little half and half to make it creamier.  

Serve warm as a starter--how about for Thanksgiving Dinner?

This is yummy!

Enjoy friends!