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A Better Way To Make Grilled Cheese + The Best Tomato Soup I've Ever Had

Perfectly toasty and melty grilled cheese made in the oven, served with the most amazing tomato soup ever - Toasted Garlic Tomato Bisque from Jessica Merchant's new cookbook, The Pretty Dish!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Calories 328kcal
Author Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

  • FOR THE TOMATO SOUP
  • 2 tbsp butter salted or unsalted works
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 shallots, sliced The shallots I bought were very large, so I only used one
  • 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 28 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2/3 cup cooking sherry
  • 1/3 cup chicken stock Vegetable stock works too, if you want to make this recipe vegetarian!
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream Plus a little extra for garnish
  • fresh basil and oregano, chopped For topping
  • FOR THE GRILLED CHEESE
  • 1 loaf of good bakery bread
  • 6 oz cheese We used a mix of gruyere and mild cheddar, and we used blocks of cheese and cut slices
  • 1/4 cup butter

Instructions

  • Make the soup: In a medium saucepan (or dutch oven), melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until it is golden brown and toasty. With a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to a plate. Add the shallots to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until soft and slightly golden. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Return the garlic to the pan, along with the tomatoes, sherry, stock, sugar, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. 
  • When the soup is done simmering, transfer to a high-powered blender and carefully blend until pureed. Return the soup to the pot and heat over low heat. Right before serving, stir in the cream. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
  • Make the grilled cheese: Turn your oven's broiler on. Spray a baking sheet generously with non-stick spray. Slice your bread. Spread the outsides and the insides of each slice with butter. Lay two slices of bread on the baking sheet, and lay half of the cheese on each slice. Put in the oven for 1-2 minutes without adding the top pieces of bread. Keep a close eye on the sandwiches so they don't burn! After the 1-2 minutes, add the top slice of bread to each of the two pieces on the pan and return to the oven for 1-2 more minutes. Flip the sandwiches and broil for another 1-2 minutes. Keep a close eye on the sandwiches during this part! The broil function is super powerful and things can go from golden brown to charcoal black quickly. 
  • Before serving, drizzle the soup with the extra cream and top with basil and oregano. Serve with the hot grilled cheese! 

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal