Tomato Bisque

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion (diced small)

1 large carrot (diced small and peeled if desired)

1 large rib celery (diced small)

2 cloves garlic (smashed and peeled)

28 ounce can whole tomatoes (with juice)

1 cup water

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

pinch crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 cup heavy cream

5 ounces sourdough bread (crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes)

2 tablespoons olive oil

kosher salt (to taste)

Directions

Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until sizzling. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, water, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and basil. Stir and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

To finish the soup, remove from heat and stir in cream; blend in the pan with an immersion blender or blend in batches in a traditional blender. (Important note: Blending hot liquids in a traditional blender will blow the lid off which will make a mess and could burn you. Instead, use a towel to cover the top of of the pitcher while blending instead of the lid. )

Return blended soup to pan and season to taste with salt and pepper; reheat to simmer if needed.

Meanwhile make the croutons: Preheat oven to 400˚F. Add bread cubes to a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil; toss to coat. Spread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and season to taste with kosher salt. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside.

Serve soup hot topped with croutons.

Nutrition

• Calories: 219 kcal
• Total Fat: 13 g
• Saturated Fat: 4 g
• Cholesterol: 18 mg
• Sodium: 738 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 22 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 5 g
• Protein: 4 g