Simple Homemade Tomato Bisque

Name: Simple Homemade Tomato Bisque
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 small yellow onion (, chopped small, 3/4 cup); 1 stick salted butter (, 8 tbsp); 1 tsp dried dill weed; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1/4 cup all purpose flour; 1 28 oz . can chopped San Marzano tomatoes; 2 cups chicken stock; 1 cup V-8 juice (, or vegetable juice); 1/2 tsp white pepper; 3/4 tsp salt; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley; 2 tablespoons honey; 2/3 cup heavy cream

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Homemade tomato bisque is one of the better dishes I’ve made lately. It’s rustic in that it is not a pureed tomato bisque, but maintains the chunks of tomato and onion, giving it a great mouth feel. But what is really nice, is the flavor due to the dill and oregano which are a perfect compliment to the sweetened tomatoes. You’ll think that you are in a fancy restaurant when you dig into this homemade tomato soup.

As a matter of fact, this recipe is from a fancy restaurant. Savories European Bistro was an upscale restaurant in Stillwater, MN and MaryJo received the recipe from a co-worker at the bank where they both worked. I’m not sure if Lori Johnson figured out the homemade tomato bisque recipe herself, or was given the recipe by the owners of Savories, Jeffrey and Kristin Klemetsrud. Jeff, by the way, is a graduate of the New York Culinary Institute of America. All I know is that this is wonderful tasting and should be on your list of recipes to try.

This bisque tastes slightly sweet because of the honey. Combine that sweetness with the distinct flavor of dill and oregano and this becomes no ordinary tomato soup. Try this once and it will be on your shortlist of dishes to make over and over.

If you would like to look at another tomato soup recipe, try this one. It’s another great tasting tomato soup.

The Ingredients in Tomato Bisque

There’s a good amount of butter, for richness, a little onion, dill weed, and oregano. A small amount of flour is used for thickening because there’s quite a bit of liquid in the recipe. San Marzano tomatoes which are usually peeled and left whole, will need to be broken down. I find it’s easiest to use a pair of kitchen shears to cut them into pieces. An immersion blender will do the job too. I was fortunate enough to find some chopped San Marzano’s and didn’t have to cut them up.

Next, add a small can of chicken broth, which is around 2 cups. A cup of V-8 juice is added or you could use a cup of tomato sauce, just for a little more tomato flavor. Finally, add the honey, for a pleasant sweetness to go with the tomatoes, the cream, and some fresh chopped Italian parsley. These ingredients make a great tasting bisque.

You can serve this as part of your main dish, or it would be perfect as a first course in a smaller portion. Since it is essentially tomato soup, it goes with grilled cheese sandwiches perfectly.

Spoon it up, drizzle a little cream on top and garnish with parsley or fresh dill. For an excellent accompaniment to this, start off with my Smoked Salmon Dill and Capers Appetizer. The two of them would be fabulous together.