Red Pepper Tomato Soup with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich
The tomato soup and grilled cheese combo of your dreams. When I dipped my cheesy, toasted sourdough into my spicy, red pepper tomato soup, I genuinely felt like I was in heaven.
The warmth of the soup and the crunch of the sandwich made me smile cheek to cheek. So, since I'm not a selfish person, I felt it quite necessary to share this delightful recipe with you all.
The tomato soup is no plain tomato soup, it has Hungarian paprika jam, dried basil, red pepper flakes, garlic, and sweet onion. You're going to absolutely love it and it was so easy and mess free to make. Make this on a snowy day for you and your family, or enjoy it by yourself while you're snuggled up in a blanket watching your favorite movie. So if I've influenced you enough, let's get to the recipe.
Yields: 1-4 (depends how much you're serving)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
This recipe is dairy free, gluten free, and vegan if you're only enjoying the soup. Otherwise, the grilled cheese has dairy and gluten.
Ingredients:
1. 6 plum or tomatoes on the vine
2. 1 head of garlic
3. 1 sweet onion, chopped large
4. 1 ½ TSPs dried basil
5. 1 ½ - 2 TBSPS of hot pepper jam (spread, paste works too)
6. 1 ½ cups of veggie broth (you can use chicken if you'd like - I've tried both ways)
7. 2 cups of water
8. 4 TBSPS of extra virgin olive oil
9. Salt
10. ¼ TSP red pepper flakes
11. Freshly ground black pepper
12. Fresh basil to garnish
Grilled cheese:
1. 2 pieces of sourdough bread
2. Italian blend of cheese (grated is easier)
3. Hot pepper jam
4. 1-2 TBSPs of unsalted butter
Instructions:
1. First, grab a large pot. Drizzle in 4 TBSPS of olive oil on medium-high heat.
2. Once the olive oil simmers, add in your 6 tomatoes and head of garlic with the top chopped off.
3. Add 1 TSP of salt in as well.
Cover the pot and allow the garlic and tomato to roast for up to 15 minutes. Don't allow them to burn. Once they are done roasting, gently squeeze the garlic cloves out of the head into the pot and toss the skin.
4. Have 2 cups of boiled water on the side and your broth ready to go.
5. Pour in the water and broth into the pot.
6. Add in the onion, hot pepper jam, dried basil, and red pepper flakes.
Stir well.
7. Cover and allow the tomatoes and onion to cook very well. You want them soft enough to be able to blend them after.
8. Once they are all soft enough, which should be after 25-30 minutes, blend them with a hand mixer.
9. The soup should be a thick consistency now. Taste test for salt and add to your liking. You can also add freshly ground black pepper.
10. Let the soup cook for 10 more minutes or so.
11. During this time, you can make your grilled cheese sandwich.
12. Grab two slices of sourdough bread, spread on the hot pepper jam on one side and add the Italian blend of cheese to your liking. Layer the other slice on top and add slivers of butter on top.
13. In a frying pan, add in 1 TBSP of butter and once it melts, add in the sandwich. Toast properly on both sides until the cheese has fully melted.
14. Now, you have your tomato soup and grilled cheese.
15. Feel free to top the soup with fresh basil. Enjoy!
