Homemade Tomato Bisque/Soup for Autumn Enjoyment!

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A hot bowl of soup on a hot summer day is not for me!  However, while tomatoes are ripe and now in the peak of their season, this is the time to make a big batch of tomato soup and to can or freeze it.  So in the midst of our 99 degree weather day, that's just what I did today.  If you have ever had the pleasure of sipping fresh tomato soup or any flavor of soup for that matter, you'll never go back to the canned varieties!  You also know that there are no additives, artificial flavorings, and not so much salt/sodium in your homemade soups!  Plus there's no fat in this, unless of course you add the good mono fats of the olive oil (and we still need that for our skin, you know).

Fresh, chopped basil and garlic mingle with sauteed onions and carrots to make this soup's flavor explode!  In the cold days of fall and winter, we'll add cream to this for our favorite version of tomato soup alongside some grilled cheese panini!  Now that's where the fat will come in, but hey, you have to indulge now and then!  All this sweaty, hard work in the kitchen will be appreciated when the chilly weather arrives and we'll be enjoying some summer flavors in a bowl.

For this recipe, I don't have exact amounts of tomatoes listed, because I just throw in as many as my taste palate prefers.  I recommend that you do the same.  Start off with at least 10 tomatoes though.

Fresh Homemade Tomato and Basil Bisque/Soup

4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups red onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
10 large, very ripe tomatoes, peels and stems/core removed, seeded if possible
(start with this amount and taste to see if you want a stronger tomato flavor).
1/4 - 1/3 cup of fresh basil, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. sugar
4 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable if you're vegetarian), homemade is best (which I also freeze large batches of to use in soups).
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of cream, if cream of tomato soup is desired.

In a big soup pot, pour in the olive oil with the stove heat set to low.
Add the onions and carrots to saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and saute for one more minute.
For the tomatoes, I blanch them, let them cool, then remove the peels and stem/cores.
Place the peeled tomatoes into a food mill (on top of a medium/large bowl to catch the juice) and turn them around until all of the seeds remain inside the mill and all of the tomato puree comes out into a bowl.  I do this for about half of my tomatoes because it is so tiring!  I'm of the school that the seeds don't do that much damage to the flavor.  In fact, I'm reading more and more about just leaving them in!
Pour all of the tomato puree and juice into the big soup pot.
Add the basil, sugar, salt and pepper, and chicken broth.  Stir.
Cook on very low (with a sheet pan underneath the pot to prevent burning), for about 45 minutes.
Taste and add whatever you prefer.
Add the cream and heat up if you prefer cream of tomato soup.

I do not freeze this soup with the cream in it, but rather add the cream when I thaw out and heat up the soup.

About 3 - 4 cups of tomato soup in each of these containers . . . off to the freezer!

Homemade Fresh Tomato Soup

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Panzanella ~ ~ Italian Tomato, Bread and Basil Salad!

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Bread is perfect for mopping up sauces and broth!  That's the basic idea of this wonderful, traditional Italian, fresh tomato and bread salad known as "Panzanella":  crusty, hefty, day-old bread chunks tossed into tomatoes, onions, and fresh basil with a vinaigrette dressing.  This simple and delicious salad is a creation from the central region of Italy.  Panzanella is also another great way to use those juicy tomatoes that are in the peak of the season.  You won't even have to use the oven or stove; it's a cold, lovely, and light salad full of rich flavor!  

Chopped tomatoes, red onion, and basil in vinaigrette, all juicing up nicely!  The bread soaks up up all of that wonderful juice.

 Several days-old ciabatta or sour dough bread cut into 1" cubes.  These were rock hard!

Toss everything together . . . the orange-colored bread is from the red tomato juice/vinaigrette being soaked up.

Panzanella

4 cups fresh, ripe tomatoes, cut into cubes

1 cup red onion, chopped into 1/2" pieces

20 fresh basil leaves, sliced into slivers or shredded

6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

8 cups of day old/several days-old ciabbata or sourdourgh bread, cut into 1" cubes

Sprigs of fresh basil for garnish.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, red onions, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until well mixed.

Just before serving, toss in the bread cubes.

If you prefer, you can allow the salad to set for 10 minutes before serving so that the bread soaks up the vinaigrette more.

Kick it up a notch by doing any of the following:

Add some chopped up cucumbers.
Add cubes of fresh mozzarella.

Or add chopped prosciutto.

OR, add a combination or all of the above!

Our golden retriever, "Buckeye", just LOVES tomatoes and bread.  

With the basil and vinaigrette, he was smacking his lips in appreciation!

Italian Panzanella

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Heirloom Tomato Frittata with Fresh Basil and Parmesan!

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Heirloom tomatoes have the most intense flavor!  And their color(s) are so vivid and rich!  I just love simply looking at them.  So far, Bill and I have frozen 6 (gallon-size) freezer bags of blanched tomatoes.  We've eaten countless amounts of BLT's (bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches) every day for lunch as well . . . somehow we just never tire of that sandwich combination.  We never run out of tomatoes, but we always run to the store for more bacon and lettuce!  LOL!

Anyhow, here's a superb Italian frittata recipe that helps use some of those fresh tomatoes, basil, and onions that you've got growing in your garden (or from the farmers' markets/roadside stands).  It is packed with flavor in it's simplicity!  I hope that you enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato Frittata with Basil and Parmesan

2 - 4 Tbsp. olive oil
3 jumbo eggs, beaten
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1 medium tomato, heirloom or hybrid (regular), cut into small chunks
8 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
3 - 4 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmiggiano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Turn the oven on 'broil'.
In a small frying pan, pour 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil and heat on 'low' for just a few seconds so that you do not burn the olive oil.
Add the chopped onion and cook until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Again, do not burn.
While the onion sautes, beat the eggs in a medium-sized bowl, and set aside while the veggies cook on the stove.
Add the chopped tomato to the onions in the frying pan (not the eggs), turn up the heat of the stove, and cook until most of the liquid is reduced (too much liquid will lead to very runny frittatas that are undercooked and mushy).
Add the basil to the onion/tomato mixture in the frying pan.
Remove pan from heat and add all of this cooked veggie/herb mixture to the bowl of beaten eggs.
Add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Blend everything together well.
Add another Tbsp or two of olive oil to the pan.  Heat on low.
Pour the egg/veggie/herb/parmesan mixture back into the pan, cover, and cook on LOW for 20 minutes or until the egg mixture is cooked.
Place the frying pan with frittata in the oven and broil until the frittata is cooked through and golden brown.  Keep your eyes on it so that it doesn't burn.
With a good oven mitt/glove, take the frittata out of the oven.
If you like, sprinkle with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Garnish with pretty tomatoes and sprigs of fresh basil.

Enjoy!

Tomato Frittata with Basil and Parmesan Cheese Pin It