Roasted Tomato Bisque

I have been craving good tomato soup lately.  It's truly one of my favorite lunches.  Bowl of warm soup, bread to dip it in... there's nothing better than that.  I usually stay away from vegetable soups because Nick isn't a fan and making a big batch of soup for just one person means I am left eating it for at least a week.  With all the delicious recipes in the world I have trouble dedicating myself to just one thing for an entire week.  But with this recipe I think I can manage.

Actually my interest in this recipe was because of some beautiful pictures of roasted tomatoes I saw online lately. I knew I wanted to try and take those pictures. The oil on the pan, the salt and pepper, the crinkly tomatoes... how pretty.  So I thought I would give it a try.  With Panera being my favorite place for soup I thought I would use them as inspiration for my soup.

I had a lot of fun taking these pictures, there were even some "wardrobe changes" as I mixed up the serving bowl. I just loved the look of the aluminum foil after the tomatoes were roasted on it and wanted to include it in the pictures.  Though beware... the oil on the sheet gets dyed from the tomatoes and will get a definitely stain your white shirt you are wearing while taking pictures if you are as careless as me!  Be Warned!

To me nothing is better in the fall than soup for lunch.  Here I added some cheesy croutons but next I think I'm going to have to test out some homemade bread to go with it.  Guess I'll just have to make this again and see if it holds up! :)

Panera's Creamy Tomato Bisque Recipe

Ingredients
yields 4 servings
3 lbs roma tomatoes
2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small sweet onion, minced
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 T. fresh oregano (or 1 t. dried)
3 T. heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut tomatoes into quarters and place on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil liberally on the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper (about 1 t. each).  Place tomatoes in the oven for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

2) Heat butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan until it begins to foam.  Add onions, garlic, and carrots.  Sweat veggies until they are very tender (about 20 minutes).

3) In a blender or food processor place tomatoes and onion mixture and process until smooth.  If the mixture is too dry add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock.

4) Pour mixture back into the saucepan and add stock and herbs.  Warm over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until it reaches desired serving temperature (about 5 minutes).  Add the heavy cream and stir.  Serve with grilled cheese or croutons.

Asiago Cheese Crouton Recipe

Ingredients
4 pieces sourdough bread
2 T. butter
1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese

Directions
1) Heat a skillet, panini-press, waffle-iron, or Foreman to medium.  (I used a waffle iron for mine, that's why they have the fun pattern).

2) Spread butter on one side of each piece of bread. Divide the cheese up between the two sandwiches.

3) Grill until crunchy.  Allow to cool 1 minute before slicing.  Slice into small cubes and serve on top of soup.  Yum!

Looking for more soups?  Try some of these recipes to keep you warm on a cold fall night...

New England Clam Chowder

Chicken and Dumplings