Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Bisque

I love autumn because in addition to post-season baseball and the start of football we get to start having all those warm and hearty meals of winter. Here is a nice transition from the light meals of summer to the heavier meals of winter, bisque. Traditionally bisques are made with crustaceans but I say if it's creamy, if it's smooth, then it's a bisque. For this one I used eggplant and tomatoes. The first thing I did was thinly slice the eggplant.

Next I put olive oil and s&p on a baking sheet and laid out the slices before drizzling oil and seasoning on the top side.

I baked two sheets on 375F and got started on the soup. I wanted kind of rich and carmalized flavor to go along with the roasted eggplant so I julienned an onion and slow cooked it in olive oil, garlic, s&p and some basil at the end.

Next I added fresh quartered tomatoes.

When the eggplant was sufficiently roasted I removed it from the oven and added it to the pot.

Once everything was all in I added some whole milk, heavy cream, and a bit of water. I also put in a few leaves of basil but not so many that you would think you're just eating pasta sauce.

Then I got out a brilliant little gadget, the immersion blender. But if you dont have this you can transfer to a blender.

Blend until smooth and taste along the way. You may need to add more salt and pepper. I hit mine with a dollop of anchovy paste for a little hint of delicious briny flavor.

Lastly plate it, maybe crack some pepper on top and pour yourself some wine.

• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Onions
• Basil
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Sugar
• Whole milk, cream
• Anchovies (optional)