Butter Roasted Tomato-Basil Bisque
The greatest tomato-basil bisque we’ve ever made or tried, this one earns its status thanks to one very simple ingredient: time. It comes together in less than 5 minutes and then the oven does all the work (or your slow cooker). Butter, creamy cheese, roasted onions and garlic … this is a tomato soup lover’s dream bowl. Plus? We treat like French Onion Soup and cover with crusty bread and gooey cheese. Heaven.
- Yield: Serves 4, easily multiplied 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 white onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoon basil paste or the stems from one bunch fresh basil, chopped
- 3 teaspoons vegetable stock concentrate
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, as needed
- 5 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoons
- 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 baguette, sliced or torn into thick pieces (no need for precision here)
- 1 to 1.5 cups shredded white cheddar cheese (as much as you like, let’s be real)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, sliced onion, basil paste, veggie stock concentrate (Better Than Bouillon), tomato paste, sugar, a light pinch of salt, and a generous pinch of pepper pepper to a large baking dish. Toss to mix and coat. Scatter the butter all around. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes.
- Add the San Marzanos (or canned tomatoes), stir and roast for 30 minutes more, uncovered.
- If you have a handheld immersion blender, transfer the baking dish contents to a large pot over medium heat. If you don’t have one, transfer them to a blender. Add the mascarpone/cream cheese, and let it melt into the soup a little bit. Blend until very smooth, and pour into the pot over medium heat.
- Add 1/2 cup milk. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if you like. You can add more milk if you like a thinner soup, but this is a bisque, so meant to be a bit thicker. You can stop right here and enjoy the bisque just as it is. Or …Â
- Ladle into oven-proof bowls/mugs and place on a baking sheet. Cover the tops of the soups with a few pieces of the bread and cover with cheese. Place on the middle rack under the broiler for just a couple of minutes, until browned, toasty and melted. Enjoy.
Notes
TO MAKE IN A SLOW COOKER: To prepare this recipe in a slow cooker, simply put all of the ingredients except for the cream cheese and milk into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 8. After that, just take the lid off, add the cream cheese and allow it to melt. You can blend the soup right in the slow cooker with an immersion blender, or transfer it to a high-speed blender. Add the milk/half and half and let it come back up to a simmer in a pot on the stove.
Proceed with ladling into bowls on a baking sheet, topping with bread slices and cheese, and grilling under the broiler.