Creamed Tomato Bisque

Tomato soup has always been a favorite of mine, not a rich bisque made with whipping cream but a can of Campbell's soup made with milk instead of water. That is, until I came across this recipe years ago in Marlene Sorosky's book Cookery for Entertaining. The recipe does take some time to prepare, but it is so worth it to have a bowl of this rich creamy tomato soup instead of the ho-hum canned version. The blend of spices is wonderful and fragrant making a bowl of this soup delicious when served either hot or cold. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 stick butter
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 14.5-oz. cans chopped tomatoes, drained
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. marjoram
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. white pepper
salt to taste

1. Melt butter in a 4-qt. or larger saucepan. Saute' celery, onion and carrots until tender.
2. Stir in flour. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add tomatoes, sugar, basil, marjoram, bay leaf and chicken broth. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Discard bay leaf. Puree soup in batches in a blender. Return mixture to the saucepan.
5. Add cream, paprika, curry powder and pepper. Stir to blend. Add salt, if needed, to taste. Reheat gently over low to medium-low heat being careful not to boil.

Yield: 12 1/3 cups
235 calories per cup
2 gms. fiber
Note: Soup may be refrigerated for several days or frozen for 4 to 6 months in an airtight freezer container.