Golden Tomato Bisque

It's tomato season and I'm loving it.

I found this recipe as I was recently looking for a way to use extra milk and tomatoes. A bit unexpected, it's even better than the tomato soup of my childhood!

What You'll Need:

5 tbs grass-fed butter

1/2 cup chopped organic red onion

1 clove of minced garlic

4 tbs flour

4 cups (2 pints) of Pasture Maid Creamery whole milk

a few basil leaves and sprigs of thyme

1 1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of baking soda

3 cups of fresh chopped tomatoes

How To:

1. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter in a large pan over low until softened.

2. Sprinkle and incorporate the flour into the butter, garlic and onions, stirring as mixture cooks and slightly thickens. (This forms a basic roux or white sauce base that can be used in a variety of creamy soups.)

3. Pour in the milk, herbs and salt. Stirring well, bring the pot to a slow simmer.

4. Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes for absorption and to avoid globs.

5. As the milk begins to thicken, add the tomatoes to the soup pot and bring to a steady simmer.

6. Strain the cooked cream of tomato soup and reheat as needed before serving to remove herb stems and excess tomato skins and seeds.

7. Enjoy with crusty bread slathered with homemade mascarpone.

Notes:

If it's your preference, I would definitely recommend using your favorite trusted skimmed or reduced fat milk in this recipe. It can be heavy so there's no harm in mixing milks to gain the consistency you prefer.

The original recipe called for 1 1/2 tsp of sugar but I skipped that step as I despise sweetened canned tomato soup. I was nervous that I'd miss the added sweetness but honestly the tomatoes did the job! In this case, I used mostly large golden tomatoes that were still pretty firm. You could substitute for any variety of tomato. The same goes for the herbs. Add more herbs for a less-than-subtle flavor (I like the subtlety in this case) or add after straining for a different approach/texture.

Other recipes for similar soups call for white wine or even vinegar but I think the tomatoes provide acidity enough.