Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich

Are you kidding me?  Who wouldn't want some of this?  It's only the best tomato soup I've ever made plus a pretty darned deluxe grilled cheese.  I saw the soup on Joy the Baker, who got it from Martha, and the sandwich is an old favorite from Nigella Express.  Put them together and you have a perfect meal that imbues a childhood classic with a rich patina of culinary snobbery.  Plus you get to use an immersion blender at the end, always a plus in my book.

And!  I tasted the soup after I blended it, and it seemed pretty damned creamy without any cream!  So I didn't add it and it was still delicious.  So if you also want to feel virtuous, this soup has that going for it.

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• 4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely diced
• course sea salt and fresh black pepper
• splash of red wine vinegar (just over 1 Tablespoon)
• 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 3 T tomato paste
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 2 cans (14 1/2-ounces each) low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cans (28-ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes in juice  (with basil if available)  
• 1/2- 3/4 C whole milk or cream

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat.  Add oil, carrot and onion and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the onion is translucent and the carrots are well on their way to softening, about 7 to 8 minutes.   Add the splash of vinegar at stir until cooked off.  

Turn flame to low and add flour.  Incorporate into the onion and carrots.  Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to distribute the paste and cook off the flour taste.  

Add chicken broth and bay leaf.  

With clean hands add the tomatoes to the pot, breaking the whole tomatoes up with your hands as you add the tomatoes and the juice.   Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Remove from heat.  Using an emulsion blender, puree soup in pot until you’ve reached the desired consistency.  Maybe you like more chunks than some folks!  If you don’t have an emulsion blender, let the soup cool for about 30 minutes and, working in two or three batches, puree some of the soup in a conventional blender until smooth.  Place pureed soup in a bowl and puree the remainder in the pot.  

Return pureed soup to the pot and stir in milk or cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

This makes about eight 2-cup servings.

Note: Joy mentions on her site that it's really crucial that you use San Marzano tomatoes, and I concur.  They're sweet and a real step up from ordinary canned tomatoes.  Hunt them down! 

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

(This is from memory and will make two sandwiches.)

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices of "real" bread from a loaf
• 2-4 slices of cheddar cheese
• 2 t mayonnaise
• 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
• pepper
• tomato, sliced medium-thin
• olive oil

Put a frying pan on the stove to warm up (medium heat).

Mix the mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce in a tiny bowl.  Isn't it pretty in a dusky kind of way?

Spread it on the four pieces of bread, and then layer on the cheese.  All I've ever needed is a single layer of cheese, but I'm not you.  I'm also not Jeff, who hates raw tomatoes.  So add a tomato slice on the sandwich if you're into them.  Sprinkle some pepper on top.  And I assume you know how to make a sandwich, so do I have to tell you to put the other slice of bread on top of this?  I didn't think so.

Brush the top piece of bread with some olive oil and place it oil-side-down on your hot pan. Brush the other piece of bread (which would be on top now) with more olive oil.  Then you're going to want to weigh the sandwiches down.  I have a heavy Dutch oven that I sit on top of both sandwiches as they cook, and it mashes them down nicely.  You could also use a regular pot and put some heavy cans inside.  Let the sandwiches toast for 2 minutes, then flip them over, weigh them down again, and toast for 2 more minutes.  Remove, cut, and eat with that awesome soup up there.

Share some of the sandwiches' overhanging cheese with Bun or she will sulk.

Comments

[Ashley]

Now I know what I'm craving for dinner! That has to be my fave comfort food combination. I also have to add that I love all of the kitty photos - we have a tabby too.