So Many Dishes

If you live somewhere in the northern tier of the US, you will probably laugh when I say that I am cold, because temperatures today never got out of the 60s. I get it; growing up in Pennsylvania, plus the three years that we lived in Ohio, the 60s in January would have constituted a major heat wave. But, having lived in Florida for more than 48 years, these temperatures have me bundled up and doing everything I can to stay warm.

When I’m cold, I crave soup. I’m not sure why soup represents cold weather comfort food for me, but it does. I know that I’ve related the story of walking through a snow storm, carrying a container of my dad’s bean soup. It’s the perfect metaphor for soup as warmth and comfort. So it’s no wonder that I made soup on this cool evening.

Ken gave me a new cookbook for Christmas, the Milk Street book Cook What You Have. It focuses on common ingredients that are likely to be in your pantry or fridge on a regular basis. I tried a recipe for a chicken and bell pepper stir fry with hoisin last week that we both really enjoyed. So I had great hopes for tonight’s recipe, cream-free tomato bisque with Parmesan croutons.

The dish takes a bit of time, but isn’t difficult. Even though it’s the first time I’ve cooked it, I’ve made a couple of tweaks to the recipe. Much as I love Parmesan, it didn’t need nearly as much as the recipe called for. My other tweak had to do with the croutons. The original recipe called for removing the crust from all the bread used for the croutons. That seemed much too big a waste for me. I sorted out the croutons without crust, as I’ve described in the directions, but otherwise I’m fine eating croutons with crust.

Cream-Free Tomato Bisque with Parmesan Croutons

• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 6 cups of country-style white bread, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme or dried oregano, divided
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese, plus more to serve
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

Separate the bread cubes to reserve 1 1/2 cups of the bread pieces without crust, and set aside.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with 2 tablespoons oil. Add the remaining 4 1/2 cups of bread pieces, 1/2 teaspoon thyme or oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally and lowering the heat as needed to prevent the seasonings from burning, until the bread is golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a large plate, toss with the Parmesan, and spread in a single layer. Set aside to cool and crisp.

In the same pot over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the onion, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon thyme or oregano, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent but not browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, the 1 1/2 cups reserved bread pieces, and 4 cups water. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the bread is completely soft and the broth is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for about 5 minutes.

Using a blender and working in batches so the jar is never more than half full, purée the tomato mixture, streaming in the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, until smooth. Return the soup to the pot. Cook over medium-low, stirring often, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Off heat, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve topped with the croutons and sprinkled with additional Parmesan, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!