Sunday, November 6, 2016

Creamy and Delicious Tomato Bisque for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

I was craving creamy tomato soup and when my visiting brother and niece said that tomato soup was a favorite, I whipped up one of my favorites along with grilled cheese sandwiches for an easy Saturday night dinner.


This soup is my take on the tomato bisque served at Nordstrom Cafe. It's ultra rich and creamy and when it is just me, I tend to make it vegan--using coconut milk or unsweetened creamer (here's a link to that recipe and vegan Parmesan crisps), but since neither is a vegan and I had some cream to use up, I made the version below based on what I had on hand.


Tomato Basil Bisque
adapted from Nordstrom Cafe
(Makes about 6 Servings)

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp dried basil
3 (14.5 oz) cans or boxes whole tomatoes with liquid
3 cups low sodium vegetable stock
3/4 pint cream
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over in a large stock pot over medium-high heat and add carrots, onion, garlic and dried basil. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until carrots and onions are somewhat soft. Add the tomatoes and veggie stock, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer about 35-40 minutes, until flavors have blended and vegetables are completely soft.

Remove from heat and puree soup with immersion blender (or in batches in upright blender), until smooth. Return to saucepan and stir in non-dairy creamer. Warm through over low and season to taste with salt and black pepper.


Notes/Results: I could probably eat this soup every day and never get tired of it with its silky texture and delicious tomato flavor and it proved its mettle with my house guests. My brother said it is some of the best tomato soup he has eaten and they both ate every  drop of the large bowls along with every bite of the avocado and tomato grilled cheese sandwiches I made to go along the soup. An easy favorite, I will definitely make it again.


We have some good friends in the Souper Sundays kitchen who shared some delicious dishes last week--let's have a look!


Melynda from Our Sunday Cafe shared Broccoli Salad Dressed with Curry and said, "We are new to experimenting with curry. And honestly, the dishes I have tried have been mild for curry lovers. I guess it would be safe to say, we like mild as an adjective to describe food, especially new to us, foods........Curry really hits the spot in this salad. There are plenty of flavors to pop on your tongue, but the curry dressing brings them all together. You will want to make this salad in the morning (or the night before) for the evening meal."


Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog made Low Calorie Cauliflower, Cabbage, and Cumin Soup and said, "Do you want to eat more cruciferous vegetables and add low calorie soups to your diet? So do I- This low calorie and delicious easy to make soup will fill you up while helping you lose weight! I'm estimating that a bowl of this creamy vegan and naturally gluten free soup is about 100 calories , very low in fat,  provides a good amount of fiber, some protein, and a significant amount of nutrients and antioxidants.  It's perfect for my weight loss and my health concerns!"



Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen made this Burmese Yellow Spit Pea Samosa Soup and said, "The Samosa drowning in the Yellow Split Pea Dal Soup acts like a crusty bread roll or croutons.  This combination may sound a bit unusual, but it makes sense to me as my family do eat samosa this way but its with salad and a raita and then crushed into those components into a spoonful of messy deliciousness."



Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared a favorite restaurant salad: A Lush Salad from Northside Pies and said, "It's great getting salads when we dine out because I try and examine the ingredients and ballpark the measurements if I want to recreate a recipe. They use the freshest ingredients and load it up. Don't you hate it when you get a side salad and the tomatoes are bland and tasteless, the lettuce wilted and the other ingredients are limited?  Makes you sorry you ordered it but I can tell you, this place makes it fresh and they don't skimp on the ingredients. You get quality and quantity."



Finally, it's great to have Janet of The Taste Space back at Souper Sundays. Janet made this season-perfect Autumn Chickpea and Lentil Soup and said, "I spotted a soup on Angela’s blog and it used our last backyard produce perfectly – tomatoes, kale, sage, oregano and basil along with two kinds of beans, chickpeas and lentils. The flavours melded into a glorious soup of deliciousness. A great way to keep warm now that the temperatures are dipping down."


Mahalo to everyone who joined in this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:


  • Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

On your entry post (on your blog):
  • please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
  • you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up


Have a happy, healthy week!
 

5 comments:

  1. Tomato soup and grilled cheese are the perfect comfort food combo. I used to eat it when I was little and loved every morsel.. I like how easy your tomato soup recipe is. Pinning it for later- thanks

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  2. I have not eaten tomato soup in ages, and this looks delicious! I can see why every drop was gone!

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  3. I made gumbo last night and as soon as my photos are uploaded I am linking up. I've been trying to stay off social media for a while, self imposed ban, or I would have written you through Twitter.

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  4. I have linked up to souper sundays this week - with a recipe inspired by one of your posts - just love this avgolemono and was reminded of gina's post by you - thanks so much

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