Trivia for the day – what’s the difference between a bisque and a soup?
Answer: Bisque is smooth and Soup is not. 😉
Creamy tomato bisque was a childhood favorite for me. Of course many of us grew up on canned Campbell’s tomato soup (which is technically a bisque), and I’m sure that will continue to hold a place near and dear to many people’s heart.
Now that we’re all grown up, you can ditch the preservative and additive laden canned version (and questionable tomato content), and make this childhood classic at home from scratch yourself. Homemade versions of the soup (in my opinion) are far superior than the canned variety. There’s a lot of flexibility to this recipe so you can play around with the amount of the ingredients; you can add other spices as you see fit (smoked paprika anyone?).
I use canned tomatoes because it’s not always easy to find sweet fresh tomatoes year round, and it’s added work to prep. But if you have really good tomatoes, go ahead and use them. You’ll need to do a little prep by boiling (or stewing) and peeling them first, or roast them under the broiler. I’ll take the easy path with the canned tomatoes; it’s so dang good.
I also use a little bit of rice as a thickening agent instead of flour or cornstarch. You get the thickening power without that starchy taste that sometimes come with flour.
And like anything tomato based, you’ll likely need to add a little sugar to balance out the acidity. I find a little bit of sugar is enough, but this all depends on how sweet/acidic the tomatoes are to begin with (every batch of tomato is different). If you like a little more sweet, add a little more sugar – the beauty of making your own soup!
Serve with some croutons (here’s my homemade crouton recipe) or Ritz crackers (my husband’s addiction), drizzle with a little cream or basil-infused olive oil (if you fancy like that) and swirl it through. Pair it with a side of a buttery grilled cheese sandwich. This writing is making me hungry; I gotta go… 😳
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup diced carrot
- ½ cup celery
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28oz can tomatoes, preferably San Marzano tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp uncooked rice
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sugar, as needed/to taste
- salt, to taste
- ½ cup heavy cream, plus a couple tablespoons more for garnish
How I Make It
- Heat oil in a pot and add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery to soften with a pinch of salt, about 5 minutes.
- Add the can of tomatoes, stock, rice, sugar and pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer on low, uncovered, for about 30-40 minutes. Skim off the foam that rise to top during the first few minutes. Stir the soup occasionally to make sure the bottom isn't sticking or burning.
- Blend everything until smooth either in a blender or with an immersion (hand blender) until smooth.
- Add cream and combine through the soup. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper, sugar. If the soup is too thick, add a little more broth or water; if it is too thin, continue to cook a little more to let it reduce.
- When ready to serve, ladle into a bowl, drizzle with a little extra cream and swirl it through with a spoon. Garnish with shredded basil leaves and croutons (optional).
Notes
- This recipe uses rice as a thickener instead of flour or cornstarch. This thickens the soup without the 'starchy' texture/taste.
