Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese

Lunch | American

Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 25 min Servings: 4

This has to be comfort food at its best. I'm not usually a big fan of soups, but I can't say no to a creamy tomato soup with a grilled cheese toastie on the side. So for this recipe, we’re roasting the tomatoes first to concentrate their sweetness and bring out a bit of caramelisation, then blending everything down to a silky, rich soup. The grilled cheese uses two cheeses, melty mozzarella for the stretch and smoked cheddar for depth.

Ingredient Notes

Tomatoes: Use ripe, in-season tomatoes for the best flavour. Roma, vine-ripened or any deep-red variety work brilliantly. Avoid pale or out-of-season tomatoes, they don’t have the sugar or acidity to make a great soup. If you’re stuck mid-winter, two 400g tins of whole peeled tomatoes work fine, just skip the roast and add them straight to the saucepan.

Smoked cheddar: The smoky note is what makes this grilled cheese a step above a standard cheese toastie. Look for a properly smoked cheddar, not a smoke-flavoured one. Try the deli section or a good cheesemonger. If you can’t find it, regular sharp cheddar plus a tiny pinch of smoked paprika in the soup gets you somewhere close.

Mozzarella: Use block mozzarella, not fresh. Fresh mozzarella has too much moisture and will make the sandwich soggy. Block (sometimes called pizza mozzarella) melts evenly and gives you that signature stretchy pull when you tear the sandwich apart.

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Large oven tray
Large saucepan
Wooden spoon
Stick blender (or regular blender)
Medium frying pan
Spatula
Panini press or heavy pan (for pressing)
Box grater

Ingredients

1kg tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
100g butter
2 brown onions, finely sliced
pinch of salt and black pepper
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock
12 basil leaves
2 cups (200g) mozzarella, grated
2 cups (200g) smoked cheddar, grated
8 thick slices sourdough

Directions

Prep soup base
Preheat the oven to 180C fan forced (200C conventional).
Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise, before placing them on a tray with half of the olive oil drizzled over, top with a generous pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper.
Roast for 20 minutes.
Heat remaining oil and half the butter together in a large saucepan on medium heat.
Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, until softened.
Add garlic, cook, stirring for ten minutes, (add following) until lightly caramelised.
Remove tomatoes from oven, transfer to saucepan (add following) with the onions.
Deglaze oven tray with some of the stock to remove any tomato stuck to it.
Add remaining stock to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Prep the grilled cheese
While the soup is simmering, butter one side of each bread slice.
Heat a medium frying pan on medium. Place a slice of bread, buttered side down in the pan.
Top with 1/4 of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the cheddar.
Top with another slice of bread, buttered side facing up.
Press bread down with a protein press, cook for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown.
Flip the grilled cheese over and cook the other side, pressed down, until golden brown and cheese melted.
Transfer the grilled cheese to a tray to keep warm and repeat with remaining bread and cheese.
Blend soup and serve
Remove soup from the heat and carefully puree with a stick blender or bench top blender, with the basil leaves until smooth, approximately 1-2 minutes.
Serve your soup in a bowl, drizzle with some EVOO and garnish with a few basil leaves and serve alongside your grilled cheese. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Directions

Recipe notes