Tomato Basil Bisque

I've been on the bisque train of late thanks to my immersion blender!! My husband loves tomato soup but I was seriously disappointed with the amount of sodium and preservatives were in the canned version of his favourite "feel-better" food. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!

You can absolutely use fresh tomatoes for this, but it's January here so I am going to rely on my canned variety because tomatoes aren't in season here. The riper the tomato, the better the flavour! I would challenge you to grow your own tomatoes and use those once they're nice and soft. You just have to peel them first. Blanch them in water, the skin will come right off.

But for those of us stuck in the Great White North - canned tomatoes will do just fine. You have choices in your canned tomatoes! You want to buy tomatoes canned in regions that grow tomatoes. For instance, I wouldn't buy tomatoes that were canned in Nebraska (no offence Nebraska!) Your best bet are Italian tomatoes picked at the height of their season, but these can be incredibly expensive. If it's worth it to you - go for it!

For me, I found a 100oz can of California tomatoes at Costco. California has the climate for tomatoes, so I figure they'd be good. I bought the crushed variety.

Ingredients

1 100oz can San Benito Tomatoes (or whatever)
cloves from 3 heads of roasted garlic **
2 roasted onions**
1 sprig fresh, organic rosemary
large handful of fresh, organic sweet basil
1/4 finely grated parmesean cheese
1 cup 1% milk
1 cup light cream
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
**2. On a large piece of parchment paper add 3 heads of garlic (tops chopped off), 2 quartered yellow onions and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Lightly coat ingredients with extra virgin cold pressed olive oil, some seat salt and fresh cracked pepper. Seal the parchment by folding the paper as if you were packing a sandwhich. Place on a cookie sheet and cook until the vegetables are tender (about 50 minutes).
2. In a large pot add your tomatoes, basil, rosemary and blend with the immersion blender until smooth. Set aside.
3. Once onions and garlic have finished roasting, add them to the pot. You can squeeze out the cloves of garlic or dig them out with a fork. remove all skin and stem from the onion before adding it.
4. Blend ingredients.
5. Heat. Season with salt and pepper and serve!