Tomato Bisque

It’s been a while since I’ve made soup. Well, to be clear, since I’ve blogged about making soup. The weather’s been changing (currently it is a lovely sunny day) but between March and May you never know if it’s going to rain or shine, that’s why I’ve turned to soups that can be enjoyed both hot and cold. Tal Ronnen never disappoints so I was excited to adapt his Tomato Bisque. At first I was skeptical about using so many cashews (I eat enough of them throughout the day) but they add an essential creaminess which combines with the tomatoes to make this soup unbeatable. It’s easy too — as long as you have a food processor AND an immersion blender.

Tomato Bisque

Sea Salt
4 tbs Earth Balance Butter
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 carrot, pealed and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 tbs whole wheat flour
4 cups vegetable stock
1 (28-oz) can whole fire-roasted tomatoes, juice included
1 tbs cilantro, minced plus additional for garnish
1 tsp thyme
1 1/2 cups cashews
1 cup water

Sprinkle a bit of salt in a medium pot on high heat and add the Earth Balance. After a minute add in your chopped vegetables and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook for another 2 minutes — be careful not to burn.

Add in the broth, tomatoes, cilantro, and thyme.

Bring the soup to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, combine your cashews and water in the blender and blend for at least 1 minute or completely smooth (BUT THICK!) This picture is supposed to demonstrate the thickness, but not sure it does.)

After 30 minutes mix in the cashew cream (reserving 1/4 cup to use as garnish) and stir for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes before using your immersion blender to blend the soup. I decided to try using GIFs here, so that’s what you have below. Because I wasn’t thinking about this GIF as I took these pictures it looks more like a slide-show, but I’ll get there.

You want it to be nice and creamy, so make sure not to leave any lumps.

Garnish with additional cashew cream and cilantro. Eat immediately or chill and serve cold.