Creamy Tomato Bisque

Name: Creamy Tomato Bisque
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: ¼ cup unsalted butter; 1 cup chopped onion; 2 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes; ¼ cup anise flavored liqueur (such as Pernod(R)); 1 tablespoon crushed fennel seed; 4 teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 cup half-and-half; 1 cup chopped fresh basil

27 Ratings
23 Reviews
5 Photos

A delectable tomato-basil soup that rivals the famous restaurant version!

By Kim

+ 1

prep:

20 mins

cook:

40 mins

total:

1 hr

Servings:

Max Servings:

Nutrition Info

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup anise flavored liqueur (such as Pernod(R))
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seed
4 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cup half-and-half
1 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

Step 1

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Cook and stir the onion until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, anise liqueur, fennel seed, salt, and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer to blend the flavors, about 30 minutes.

Ads will not print with your recipe
Step 2

Stir in the half-and-half and basil, and heat on low heat until the soup is hot but not boiling. Puree until smooth with an immersion blender. Alternatively, pour the bisque into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the bisque moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth.

Cook's Note

Adjust basil and fennel seed amounts to taste. Serve with crunchy baguettes or grilled cheddar sandwiches. It makes a fabulous sauce for tortellini and peas.

Tip

Aluminum foil helps keep food moist, ensures it cooks evenly, keeps leftovers fresh, and makes clean-up easy.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

142.13 calories; 3.68 g protein; 13.65 g carbohydrates; 2.97 g dietary-fiber; 1.35 g sugars; 8.83 g fat; 5.65 g saturated-fat; 25.06 mg cholesterol; 1377.14 IU vitamin-a-iu; 2.31 mg niacin-equivalents; 0.24 mg vitamin-b6; 14.11 mg vitamin-c; 23.12 mcg folate; 102.51 mg calcium; 1.98 mg iron; 35.73 mg magnesium; 474.25 mg potassium; 965.41 mg sodium; 0.12 mg thiamin; 79.51 calories-from-fat; 35 percent-of-calories-from-carbs; 52 percent-of-calories-from-fat; 9 percent-of-calories-from-protein; 33 percent-of-calories-from-sat-fat

Reviews (23)

Read All Reviews

Most helpful positive review

DeniseKantner

02/05/2010

Absolutely delicious! Left out the fennel seed (too much for my husband) and used one cup whole milk and one cup half-and-half. Can't wait to make this with fresh tomatoes this summer. Truly a masterpiece. Thanks for such a fabulous flavor.

Helpful

(11)

Most helpful critical review

Anonymous

12/03/2015

It had nice flavours but way too much salt. I had to dilute it afterward in order to eat it. Next time I would half the salt.

27 Ratings

5 17
4 8
3 2

DeniseKantner

02/05/2010

Helpful

(11)

Anonymous

04/06/2010

This is a good "thick" soup. I did not have anise liqueur or half-n-half so I used 1% milk. I think next time I might add a cup of V8 juice or vegetable broth to make it more soup-like not sauce like.

Helpful

(8)

Jude Boese

01/19/2011

This is wonderful and easy to make. I cut the salt in half and use 2Tlb dried basil instead of the fresh as it's hard to find good fresh basil here. I also add about 1 pound raw shrimp and 1/2 pound scallops and one can of chopped clams for the last 5 or so minutes of cooking (the shrimp turn orange when done). It's an amazing meal that always seems to evaporate before my eyes. Thanks Kim.

Helpful

(7)

Pyxis

04/12/2012

Yummy! Changed the recipe a bit. Caramelized the onions in the butter and deglazed the pan with dry sherry (no anise liqueur on hand). Added extra fennel and dried basil decreased the salt to a single teaspoon of coarse sea salt and added a bit of sugar to cut the acid of the tomatoes. Instead of half and half used a block of lowfat cream cheese and a cup of skim milk and then hit it with the immersion blender. Ate it with grilled cheese sandwiches. Husband was pleased! Will definitely make again.

Helpful

(4)

Laura Gott

06/17/2013

This is delicious! I was given some home-grown tomatoes so blanched and peeled them. I didn't have fennel or anise I bet those would have made it even better. I like garlic so I added some. I had three varieties of basil growing outside and used a little of each. I didn't have half and half so I used a can of evaporated milk.

Helpful

(3)

leilak17

10/18/2010

so yummy but to much salt for me and im a salt lover

Helpful

(2)

pkboiler

01/28/2012

Delicious recipe. Like others I used less salt (only 2tsp). I didn't have anise liqueur but I did have anise extract so I substituted with 2 tsp of extract. I was concerned the anise and fennel would be overpowering given the strong aroma but after cooking and letting the favors blend I was pleasantly surprised. We loved it!

Helpful

(2)

GoGatorWife

03/07/2012

Great soup. I didn't have any anise flavored liqueur but I guess I didn't miss it because it was delicious. I can't wait to use this on pasta.

Helpful

(2)

Lord Rudi C. Loehwing

11/02/2012

The recipe was brilliantly simple. Except for the rediculously extravagant and unnecessary "Pernod" reference as a anise flavored liqueuer ingredient when much less expensive alternates would work more than adequately this recipe is a winner! I added two cloves or minced garlic and a quarter cup of sundries tomato to give a bit more kick as well.

Helpful

(1)

More Reviews