Creamy Tomato Bisque with Puffy Cheese Croutons

You will hit it out of the park with the rich, flavorful tomato bisque that can be vegetarian or not with the addition of a bit of cream and butter. The puffy croutons are a real treat and leftover croutons can be frozen and quickly baked for a delicious and different appetizer.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword Creamy Tomato Bisque with Puffy Cheese Croutons, Tomato Bisque

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

For the croutons:
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
8 ounces butter at room temperature
1/3 pound gruyere cheese finely shredded or Swiss
3 egg whites at room temperature
2 Asiago bagels cut in half horizontally and then in 8 pieces vertically
For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots finely minced
1 medium onion diced
2 tablespoons garlic finely minced
8 carrots peeled and cut into 1” chunks
4 medium parsnips peeled and cut into 1” chunks
2 cups chicken stock or water if you want this to be vegetarian
28 ounce can of whole Roma tomatoes undrained and roughly chopped
10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups Italian parsley with leaves and stems
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons honey
pinch baking soda
6 basil leaves julienned
1/3 cup heavy cream optional
2 tablespoons butter optional

Instructions

For the soup:
In a large, heavy pot (I like Le Creuset) heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, onion and garlic and stir well until the onion is just translucent but not brown. Stir constantly so the garlic does not brown.
Add the carrots, parsnips, stock (or water), and chopped tomatoes.
In the center of a large piece of cheesecloth (about 12” long), place the thyme, parsley and bay leaves, which you have broken in two to enhance their flavor. Gather the cheesecloth into a bag and tie the top with cotton string. Add the bag to the pot and stir well.
Bring the vegetables to a boil and add the honey and baking soda.
Cook the mixture for 45 minutes until the vegetables are very soft.
At this point you can refrigerate the soup until you are ready to serve it or you can proceed with the recipe.
Remove the pot from the refrigerator and remove the cheesecloth bag.
Process the soup mixture in a Vitamix or in a blender or food processor until it is very smooth. Add it back to the pot and heat the soup over medium heat until it is very hot. Add the cream if you are using it and the julienned basil. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter right before you serve the soup.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with baked Puffy Cheese Croutons. I use 4-5 per bowl.
Make the Croutons:
In a large glass heatproof measuring cup heat the cream cheese and butter in the microwave for 45 seconds until the cheese is melted. Stir well. Continue to heat at 10 second intervals until the butter is just melted. You do not want to cook the mixture, just soften it enough to combine the butter and cream cheese.
Stir in the gruyere cheese and set aside until just cool. This should take about 10 minutes.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add the cream cheese mixture to the egg whites and beat for about 20-30 seconds just until it is light and fluffy.
Line a large baking sheet (of a size that fits into the freezer) with parchment paper. Dip each piece of Asiago bagel into the cheese mixture and put on the parchment paper. Put the baking sheet into the freezer for at least 1 hour. These can be made ahead and once they are frozen, you can store them in a plastic Ziploc bag and use them for croutons or later as appetizers.
To heat them, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the pan from the freezer or place the frozen pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Heat them for 8-10 minutes until brown and serve on top of the soup or on their own as appetizers.