Looking to jazz up the regular old canned soup and classic grilled cheese with a gourmet twist? Adding a different kind of cheese and fruit to a panini is one way to do it. Roasting your own veggies and making homemade butter croutons to garnish soup is the perfect compliment to this sweet and savory panini.
Quick tip: If you are making the soup but trying to avoid bread, swap the cut french bread for sour cream. This is a great gluten free alternative and makes the soup even creamier!
A Twist on Comfort Food: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Soup Ingredients:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter ½ stick
- 1 sprig thyme
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 8 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 28 oz. canned whole tomatoes
- 1-2 tsp sugar divided
- 32 oz chicken stock
- ¼ cup heavy cream or more
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 TBSP butter (for croutons)
- Crusty French bread for croutons
Sandwich Ingredients:
- 1 lb loaf ciabatta bread (or 8 slices country bread)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 oz Taleggio cheese or brie sliced
- 2 large pears apples or peaches, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges
- 2 TBSP honey
- Pinch salt
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 3 oz arugula or spinach
Instructions
Soup Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crush tomatoes with hands and place on a baking sheet, add a quarter cup extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, sugar, pepper and thyme. Let cook for 30-40 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Cook until onion is completely soft and translucent, 10–12 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium-high; add tomato paste. Continue cooking, stirring often, until paste has begun to caramelize in spots, 5–6 minutes.
- Add tomatoes with juices and chicken stock. Increase heat to high; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until flavors meld. Working in small batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth. Return to pot.
- In a small saucepan melt butter and dice up French bread. Add bread to sauce pan and stir until coated. Put on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Place in oven at 325 degrees until gold brown.
Sandwich Directions:
- Preheat the panini machine. Cut the ciabatta loaf into 4 equal pieces. Halve each piece horizontally to make 4 sandwiches.
- Brush the bread on both sides with olive oil and place the bottom-half of the bread slices in the panini machine in a single layer. Heat until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Continue with the remaining top slices of bread.
- While the top slices of the bread are in the Panini machine, begin forming the sandwiches. Divide the cheese among the warm bread. Cover the cheese with slices of fruit. Drizzle the fruit with honey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with a handful of arugula.
- Place the warmed top half of the bread over the arugula and return the competed sandwich to the panini machine for 1 to 2 minutes more to finish melting the cheese. Remove from the panini machine. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve immediately.
