Mood Lifting Tomato Bisque w/ Roasted Red Pepper & Olive Tapenade Crostini

The idea for this bisque came to me as soon as I bought two tins of San Marzano plum tomatoes. It had been quite some time since I'd had a really good tomato bisque and my soul was craving not only to eat a bowl of it---but to make it.

For a moment ( a millisecond), I thought to add clams or crab but decided that was a recipe for another day. The simplicity of the tomatoes was what I was after.

A wonderful friend and bread baker had given me a golden, crusty and gorgeous French baguette that morning so all I could think about was slathering hunks of bread with salty, delicious olive tapenade. A darling but lowly red bell pepper had been hanging out in the crisper drawer of my refrigerator begging to be used in something other than a plate of nachos. Roasting it and adding it to the tapenade was the absolute right thing to do.

Making soup, with all of the chopping, simmering and stirring is therapeutic. There be no argument there.

The tapenade is so worthy as a side-kick to the soup and the food processor does all of the heavy lifting.

I call this whole recipe 'mood lifting' simply because it is.

Lingering over a bowl of warm soup is indeed a ritual and exercise in the healing of any malaise. That's a promise!

Tomato Bisque

2 28oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes ( Delallo is my go to brand)

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small sweet onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

2 tsp of jarred basil pesto

1/2 cup of evaporated milk ( half & half will do too)

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp of sambal olek/ chili paste

2 pats of salted butter

Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and a dash of paprika to taste.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, sauté the onions, then the garlic until fragrant and tender.

Add the chicken stock and cook for about 3 minutes. Add 1 can and HALF of the other can of tomatoes to the pot. ( in an airtight container, refrigerate the rest of the tomatoes for another recipe).

Add all of your seasonings and let the soup simmer on the stove for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the soup from the burner. With an immersion blender, break up most of the tomatoes and look for a smooth yet very lightly chunky texture.

Put the soup back on the stove to simmer and at this time add the butter, basil pesto and evaporated milk or cream. Stir until combined and let simmer for another 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Red Pepper & Olive Tapenade

4 tbsp. of pitted Kalamata olives

4 tbsp. of Manzanilla olives stuffed with Pimentos

1 roasted red pepper, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove

3 tbsp. of olive oil

2 tsp. pf grated Parmesan cheese

Cracked black pepper to taste

** to roast the red bell pepper, simply cut in half and discard the seeds. Place the pepper on a small sheet pan or piece of foil and roast at 400 degrees until skin is blistered. This should take about 10 minutes.

**Note: You can substitute using 2 tsp. of jarred roasted red peppers.

In a food processor, pulse everything but the olive oil until finely chopped. Then add the olive oil and pulse for a few seconds. Store in a jar or container and chill for an hour to marinate the flavors. This is optional but recommended.