The seasons of Northern Nevada have such unique personalities. I would describe Spring as being flirtatious, fickle and a big tease! Just when you're about to embrace the warmer weather with those flip flops and shorter sleeves a cold front moves in to chill you again. Soups are still a perfect meal during the Spring. Light, yet hardy, and simple to make!
Keep this recipe handy throughout the year, but especially when your tomato plants are giving you a bounty of tomatoes. In the Winter switch to canned varieties.
Roasted Tomato Bisque
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
about 2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes. (You can roast your own but this is so much easier)
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cups broth (You can use veggie or chicken)
1 tsp herb de Provence seasoning
salt to taste
1 cup half and half
1 cup milk
I will now disclose that I made a giant batch for the restaurant, so these amounts are not exact. I've found that soups are very "forgiving". You can pretty much throw the ingredients together and 9 times out of 10 the result will be wonderful.
In a large pot start to cook the onions in the butter until they are soft. Add the garlic, tomatoes, broth and seasoning, except for the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
Blend the soup in a blender or a Ninja (I love my new Ninja) and return the mixture to the pan. Add the half and half and milk. Turn the heat back on to simmer for 5 minutes. Taste to see if it needs more salt. Serve with grated cheese of your choice and some home made croutons!
