Easy (Long Cooking) Tomato Bisque

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 -3 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1 -2 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 -2 teaspoon honey
• 12-1 cup heavy cream or 12-1 cup light cream
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. On a medium low heat, saute onions until soft and light brown.
2. Add garlic, and continue to saute until fragrant and light brown.
3. Reduce heat if necessary to keep from burning.
4. Add tomato paste to pan, and continue to cook on low, stirring often, until tomato paste turns dark red.
5. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for cream and salt and pepper.
6. Raise heat to medium high, bringing the soup to a boil.
7. Reduce heat again to medium low, and cook until volume of the soup reduces approximately 1/3 or until thickened to an almost sauce-like consistency.
8. Remove bay leaves.
9. Blend soup to a smooth consistency using either a hand blender or blender.
10. In pan, add cream in the amount needed to reach a bisque consistency.
11. Add salt and pepper and adjust any seasoning to your preference.
12. Note: For a flavor boost to a vegetarian version, look for canned roasted tomatoes which will add a smoky flavor.
13. A dash of liquid smoke also does the trick if you like the flavor.
14. I also like cajun seasoning in almost everything -- use at will.

onion, garlic, butter, oil, tomato paste, tomatoes, stock, fresh basil, sweet paprika, italian seasoning, bay leaf, balsamic vinegar, honey, heavy cream, salt

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/easy-long-cooking-tomato-bisque-263856 (may not work)