Tomato Bisque

This is a favorite around our house. Next time I make it, I will post a pic, but we really like this one. The trick to this is the onion. Use a small onion. If all you have is a big onion, cut it half. Too much onion screws up the flavor.

Tomato Bisque

4 TBL Unsalted Butter (1/2 stick)
2 EA Slices of Bacon
1 EA Rib Celery (diced)
1 Carrot (diced)
1 small white or yellow Onion (diced)
1 clove Garlic (minced)
3 TBL AP Flour
8 cups Chicken Broth
2-14 oz cans Stewed Tomatoes (with Italian seasonings)
1 small bunch parsley
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried Oregano
1/4 tsp dried Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
3/4 cup Heavy Cream

1. Dice Celery, Carrot, Onion and mince Garlic--set aside.

2. In a Large Pot over medium heat,  render bacon in butter. When bacon starts to brown, remove and discard (or eat! Bacon cooked in butter is pretty tasty, but will kill you if that becomes your new favorite drug...)

3. Once bacon has been removed, add your celery, carrot, onion and Garlic to the rendered bacon fat and butter. Cook until onion becomes translucent (about 6 minutes).

4. Sprinkle and stir in flour. This will aid in thickening the soup and soaking up all the excess liquid.

5. Add Chicken Broth, tomatoes, Oregano, Thyme and a few grinds of fresh cracked pepper.

6. Take a small bunch of parsely and your bay leaf and tie together with cooking twine and add to pot. (I find the parsley doesn't do much for flavor, so if you are feeling lazy, just add the bay leaves and call it good).

7. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

8. Fish out your Parsley and bay leaves and discard

9. With a submersible blender, blend the soup until smooth. (You can do this step with a regular blender, but it creates a huge mess and watch out for an exploding blender top).

10. Stir in cream.

Serve with rustic Italian bread.
Feeds approx. 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes