Tomato soup served with grilled cheese is many things–comfort food, brunch, lunch, light dinner, chilly weather warm-up, and perfect rainy day meal. Though it’s one of my favorite combos, I rarely make tomato soup and didn’t have a go-to recipe. Until now. I tried the Quick Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese recipe by Eric Kim for The New York Times Cooking section and got the thumbs up (or spoons up–lol) from Hubby. Two alterations to Kim’s recipe: I added garlic to the ingredients and sauteed the onion and garlic before adding the canned tomatoes and remaining ingredients. This recipe is easy, healthy and tasty!
Happy cooking, hon!
Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
- 1(28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
- ¾ cup chicken or vegetable broth, plus more as needed
- 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- salt and black pepper
- mayonnaise (mustard is my condiment of choice on grilled cheeses)
- 8 slices brioche or milk bread, crusts removed
- 1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella (4 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions:
- Make the soup. In a dutch oven or large soup pot, saute onion and minced garlic for a few minutes or until onion is softened.
- Dump the canned tomatoes and their juices into a medium pot and, using your hands, tear into coarse chunks. Swish the broth in the empty tomato can and add to the pot.
- Stir in the butter, oregano and sugar, and season generously with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and the tomatoes have broken down, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the sandwiches: Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on one side of each of the 4 bread slices and evenly sprinkle the cheese and a little oregano on top of the mayonnaise. Top with the cheeseless slices, mayonnaise-side down.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium. Add the sandwiches and cook until golden brown on the bottoms, 2 to 3 minutes. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan, then flip the sandwiches with a spatula, move them around to coat with the butter and cook until the other side is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn heat to lowest setting to keep sandwiches warm.
- Carefully purée the tomato soup using a blender until smooth and creamy, adding more broth if needed to loosen to your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the grilled cheeses to a cutting board and cut each in half diagonally. Serve alongside the soup.
Yield: 4 servings
Naomi M. Gruer 