My Grandmother's Tomato Bisque Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between tomato soup and tomato bisque? ›

While both are delicious, they are quite different, especially when it comes to the texture. Tomato bisque is thicker and creamier in texture, and calls for the use of milk and/or cream.

Key Differences

Ingredients: Bisque is often made with seafood and enriched with heavy cream, whereas soup can be made with a wide range of ingredients, offering more versatility. Consistency: Bisque is consistently smooth and velvety, while soup can have a diverse range of consistencies, depending on the recipe.

Tomato soup is an excellent source of antioxidants, including lycopene, flavonoids, and vitamins C and E, among many others ( 3 , 7 ). Consuming antioxidants has been linked with a lower risk of cancer and inflammation-related diseases, such as obesity and heart disease ( 3 , 8 , 9 ).

This creamy tomato bisque recipe uses a combination of store-bought shortcuts like chicken broth and canned tomatoes along with aromatic vegetables to create a deeply flavorful soup that's ready in just over half an hour. Pureeing half of the bisque in a blender helps thicken it, as does adding a splash of heavy cream.

Because of this distinction, there are many who argue that tomato bisque is not a true bisque at all because it has no crustacean products mixed in. However, the term has evolved in modern day to include cream based soup such as squash, mushroom, and tomato.

Bisque is a rich, thick, smooth soup that's often made with shellfish, such as lobster, crab, or shrimp. Broth or Stock is a strained, thin, clear liquid in which meat, poultry, or fish has been simmered with vegetables and herbs.

Bisques are almost always thickened with roux (rü)—a mixture of equal weights of fat (typically butter) and flour cooked over low heat. Slow cooking, with continuous stirring, is important to blend and heighten the flavors and to expand the starch in the flour gradually.

Almost all bisques are finished with hot cream for a velvety texture. The richest bisques also include butter! Bisque should feel smooth and luxurious so it must be very thoroughly blended.

Everyone filled out annual questionnaires on their food consumption, including raw tomatoes, tomato sauce, and gazpacho (a Spanish tomato soup). After three years, researchers observed an association between eating more tomatoes and lower blood pressure.

Can diabetics eat tomato bisque soup? ›

I am collaborating with Know Diabetes by Heart a collaboration between the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association to bring to your recipe ideas. This tomato basil bisque not only is heart healthy but great for people living with diabetes.

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an anti-inflammatory nutrient that fights inflammation throughout the body.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

You can add homemade croutons, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, a pinch of salt, cheese croutons, or anything else that you want to add to your own personal bowl of tomato soup.

But seriously the primary difference is that a bisque includes cream, where a traditional tomato soup does not. Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth of crustaceans.

Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Bisque is a delicious, indulgent twist on our classic tomato soup crafted with cream and tasty tomato pieces. Simmer down with a steamy bowl and savor every last spoonful.

Tomato Bisque is super silky smooth version of the classic tomato soup we all love with a finishing touch of heavy cream in less than an hour and no babysitting the pot!

A traditional French chef would define a bisque as being a thick, creamy soup made with shellfish and thickened by a paste made from their shells. Julia Child was one chef to popularize lobster bisque in the United States; her recipe uses both the shells of the lobster and rice to thicken the bisque.