Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Scarlett really wanted this post to be about broccoli soup. She wanted nothing to do with my explanation that we already have a few great ones on the site. It’s her favorite and she thinks she runs the joint with Esme. All I wanted for this post was that it included grilled cheese. It’s a bit of a thing around our household. It’s one (read: only) of my husbands specialty dishes. Whenever we’re at a loss for supper, I can always count on my husband to whip up a round of outrageously delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. He never disappoints. The bread is always a perfect, golden brown and the cheese is, without fail, served in its gooiest state. The sandwiches are never too greasy and the crust can’t disappoint with its shattering crunch. In fact, he’s so talented with this seemingly easy dish that I generally crumble under the pressure when left in charge of the frying pan. He’ll mock me with a saucy laugh when I overcook the bread. (I said overcook not burn, all right!) You’ll actually get to see Dan and Scarlett in all their grilled cheese glory in a few weeks when Ceri and I let the Dad’s run the site. (Just remember, we’re letting them ‘think’ they’re running the site. It works out nicely that way.)

Whenever we butter up a pan for grilled cheese it’s usually pretty standard for us to want tomato soup with it. This soup marries our love of the tomato/grilled cheese marriage and my need to throw garlic into any dish. In fact, when I make this dish I often don’t follow my own advice and just stick to 6 cloves of garlic. I think it’s my father in me. He’s an Italian who believes you can never have enough garlic. In this instance, I definitely agree.

8

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

Ingredients

  • For the soup:
  • plum tomatoes, halved
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • sprinkle of sea salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1/2 cup of chopped sweet onion
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon spelt flour
  • For the grilled cheese croutons:
  • two slices of multigrain bread
  • 6 shavings of cheddar cheese
  • 1 teaspoon of butter

Method

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large baking dish, arrange tomatoes and garlic and then drizzle with olive oil as well as salt and pepper.

Roast tomatoes for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Remove dish from oven and allow to cool.

In the meantime, put 2 tablespoons butter into a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onion and rosemary and sauté until onions are translucent.

Add broth as well as tomato mixture to pan.

Cover and allow to simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Working in batches, transfer soup into a food processor to puree. (You can also use an immersion blender.)

Return soup to saucepan.

In a small, separate frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat.

Add flour and whisk continuously until blended and then add to soup.

Blend roux into soup and season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer for another few minutes.

Meanwhile, butter two slices of bread and arrange cheddar cheese on one slice and then grill sandwich in a warm, greased pan.

When cheese has melted and bread is gold brown, remove from pan and slice into small, bite size pieces.

Place three grilled cheese cubes on top of each serving of soup.

 

Don’t even bother counting the garlic in this pan. I tried to hide some of it. Actually, I sometimes just fish it out so I have some roasted garlic for bread. This is also a half serving of the recipe. I sometimes make smaller batches when I’m looking for a quick hit of soup.

I’ve started to let Scarlett manage small projects in the kitchen that go beyond mixing and stirring. On this occasion, I let her make the roux. I know. You think I”m totally crazy–such a delicate thing. However, she did a great job with it. It was actually me who screwed up something on this day. I’m only telling you because, well, I’m not sure. I think I was just rushing. I over stuffed my food processor and, needless to say, Scarlett and I looked pretty foolish with tomato soup on us. We actually thought it was pretty funny and had a great chuckle over it. Dan didn’t. He had to clean it up. But, what’s the big deal, he’s in charge anyway. Wink.

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6 Comments

  1. Jen Laceda
    February 23, 19:56 Reply

    Just found this site through this month’s PC Blue flyer! I will be a regular on this site, especially for delish features like this! Yumm-o!!!

  2. erin
    February 24, 08:16 Reply

    Do you think I could substitute the spelt flour for whole wheat?

  3. erin
    February 27, 16:07 Reply

    Just made this today and it was really good!

  4. Maya
    March 22, 08:55 Reply

    I love this recipe! Especially loaded up with garlic.

  5. Heather
    March 19, 11:15 Reply

    This soup is so simple and delicious!
    I have made it a half a dozen times now, and the friends that I have served it to can’t get enough of it!

    • Laura Keogh
      March 21, 11:14 Reply

      Hi Heather, It’s always so nice to hear from you! We are big fans of this soup. It’s a Winter staple for us. I’m so glad to hear your friends enjoy it. Phew. Thanks for writing. We love hearing from you. Best, Laura

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