Crispy Grilled Cheese-Topped Tomato Soup
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 4 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 4 servings
- Calories
- 763
- Total Fat
- 61
- Saturated Fat
- 28
- Carbohydrates
- 28
- Dietary Fiber
- 6
- Sugar
- 10
- Protein
- 29
- Cholesterol
- 124
- Sodium
- 1162
- Total: 1 hr 10 min
- Active: 45 min
Ingredients
Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
One 28-ounce cans whole, peeled tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Grilled Cheese:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 slices of thin white bread, crusts removed
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 slices Muenster cheese
4 slices sharp Cheddar
4 ounces Colby Jack, shredded
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
Directions
Special equipment:
four 8-ounce ovensafe soup crocks- For the soup: Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Add the celery, garlic, shallot, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, 3 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
- Use a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes then bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the soup has deepened in flavor and turned a deeper red, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Discard the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup (alternatively, working in small batches, ladle the soup into a blender and puree until smooth, then return it to the pot). Stir in the butter until melted. You should have about 4 cups of soup.
- Meanwhile, make the grilled cheese: Turn the broiler to high.
- Spread the butter on one side of each piece of bread. Then spread the mayonnaise on top of the butter on each piece of bread. Place 4 pieces of bread, mayonnaise-side down, on a baking sheet. Top each piece with 1 slice of Muenster cheese and 1 piece of Cheddar, breaking the cheese up so that it fits inside the bread. Top each with another piece of bread, mayonnaise-side up. Broil until the bottoms of each sandwich have turned golden brown and the cheese is just starting to melt, 2 to 3 minutes.
- To assemble, line a baking sheet with foil. Ladle the tomato soup into four 8-ounce ovensafe soup crocks and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Top each crock with a sandwich. Mix the shredded Colby Jack cheese and Parmesan in a medium bowl. Divide the cheese on top of each sandwich. Broil until the cheese has melted and turns golden brown in spots, 2 to 4 minutes depending on your broiler. Carefully serve the soup in the hot crocks.