RECIPE: Pat’s Tomato Basil Bisque with Roasted Garlic

I created this soup for my uncle who came up with the concept but didn’t have a recipe. I created it by morphing several recipes I was able to find for tomato basil soup, tomato bisque, and roasted garlic soup. I omitted the cream found in traditional bisque due to keep my own tummy happy.

1 head garlic
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 lbs ripe Italian plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil, loosely packed
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Whole basil leaves, to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Remove loose, papery skin from garlic, leaving heads intact.
3. Place garlic on a sheet of heavy-duty foil; drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Loosely wrap foil around garlic, folding foil edges securely.
5. Roast until garlic has softened, about 40 minutes, and then transfer to plate.
6. Open carefully and discard foil; let garlic cool.
7. Separate garlic into cloves.
8. Squeeze soft garlic from each clove into a small bowl; set aside.
9. Heat about ¼ cup water or broth in a large saucepan until simmering

10. Add the onion and roasted garlic. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is softened.
11. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, then add the stock, white wine and sun-dried tomato paste, with salt and pepper to taste.
12. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, half cover the pan, and simmer gently for 20 minutes, shirring occasionally to keep the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
13. Process the soup with the shredded basil in a Vitamix or food processor until smooth and return to the pan.
14. Do not allow the soup to approach the boiling point.
15. Check the consistency and add more stock if necessary, then season with salt and pepper.
16. Pour into heated bowls and garnish with basil.
17. Serve at once. (Can also be frozen and served later.)

Each pot contains about 13 servings of vegetables, or 2-3 per bowl.