Creamed Tomato Bisque in a Bread Bowl

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Creamed Tomato Bisque in a Bread Bowl
by Susanne (Your Sus Chef)

This is one of those recipes I would beg my mom to make and when I went off to college she made me a big batch in small containers and I froze it in my little mini dorm fridge and would heat it up for a little taste of home.

Warning- it calls for a LOT of cream, if making it for a party or special occasion, cut loose and use it ALL.  

If for a weeknight or trying to be good I would just use 1/2-3/4 cup cream to cut some of the calories.

It’s fun to make a big batch & serve it in bread bowls for a party (or if you don’t make it to the store for fresh bread bowls you could always use oversized mugs).

This soups that warms you up from the inside out- perfect for a cold winter’s day.  Don’t skip the seasonings at the end, they make for a magical-can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it-but-it-tastes-SOOO-good finish...

Serves 8

1/4 lb butter

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 (1 lb 12oz) cans whole tomatoes, drained & chopped

2 tsp sugar

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 bay leaf (fresh is best but can be hard to find)

4 cups chicken broth

1 pint whipping cream (2 cups)

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp white pepper

salt to taste

8 Bread Bowls (buy fresh from your grocery store or fave bakery the day of & ask them to cut out the center for you)

Melt butter in a large saucepan.  Saute celery, onion & carrots until tender.  Stir in flour.  Cook 2 mins, stirring constantly.  Add tomatoes, sugar, basil, marjoram, bay leaf & chicken broth.  Simmer 30 mins, stirring occasionally.  Discard bay leaf.

Puree 1/3 of the mixture at a time in a blender.  Add cream, paprika, curry powder & white pepper.  Stir to blend.  Add salt to taste.  Serve hot or cold.

May be refrigerated several days or frozen.

P.S. My mom gave this recipe to me years ago- I think it’s adapted from an old Martha Stewart Mag

P.P.S.- Technically a “bisque” uses shellfish & cream but doesn’t it sound SO much more special than a “soup”?