Roasted Tomato And Buttermilk Bisque - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium leeks, white part, finely sliced
2 medium shallots, peeled and chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped small
2 celery ribs, with leaves sliced
2 lbs ripe tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
4 cups vegetable stock or 4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut into ribbons (NOT dried basil)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, cut into ribbons (NOT dried basil)
salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup buttermilk

Preparation

Preheat oven to BROIL.
Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and broil for 15 minutes or until tomato skin is blistered, turning every few minutes for even broiling.
Put the tomatoes in a clean paper bag, seal and sweat for 15-20 minutes or until the skin has loosened.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and seeds and discard. Chop the tomatoes coarsely. Set aside.
Warm the olive oil in a sauce pan over low-medium heat. Add the leeks, shallots, carrots and celery. Saute the mixture, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
Next add the roasted tomatoes and tomato puree. Sprinkle the flour on the tomatoes and stir to incorporate well.
Add the stock, cover and simmer until slightly thickened, approximately 20 minutes.
Once soup has been allowed to thicken, using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. (Alternatively, the soup can be cooled and pureed in a food processor.) Stir in 2 tablespoons of the fresh basil.
Transfer the soup to a non-reactive large serving bowl. (If you wish the soup can be pureed even further using a sieve and pressing the mixture into the bowl with the use of a wooden spoon).
Cover soup and refrigerate until well chilled or serve hot.
To serve, transfer the soup to individual bowls. Divide and add the buttermilk, lightly stirring in leaving a \"swirling\" effect on top of the soup serving.
Garnish each serving with a few ribbons of fresh basil.