Homemade Tomato Soup with Truffle Grilled Cheese

By Nicole Franzen • February 23, 2011 • 2 Comments

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Author Notes: So lately, my boyfriend and I have been really craving tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. We ate some at a restaurant not too long ago and it's been stuck in our minds ever since. I ideally would love to make this during the summer when the tomatoes are unbelievably delicious and much more affordable. I wasn't about to spend some ridiculous amount on fresh tomatoes during winter, which quite frankly wont even taste good anyway. I decided to go with the highest quality canned Italian tomatoes. It turned out delicious, is super fast and easy to make. Paired with a truly awesome grilled cheese, well its just pretty fabulous. Quite an impressive version of an old American classic or Zuppa di Pomodoro in Italian which is often thickened with bread.
- Nicole Franzen

Serves 4

for soup

1 28 oz can of high quality tomatoes like San Marzano
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion
1/2 cup of cream
handful fresh basil
sea salt, pepper and chili flakes

for grilled cheese

your favorite bread, I used a yummy sesame bread
your favorite cheese, I used a ridiculous truffled italian cheese called sottocenere al tartufo
a little butter

In a large pot on medium heat add a little butter, chopped carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Season with a pinch of sea salt, pepper and chili flakes. Cook till tender about 5 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and finish with 4 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer then turn off heat. Using a hand blender, blend the soup until smooth. Add a handful of fresh basil and blend again. Once smooth finish with a half cup of cream. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. The longer it sits the better it tastes but it could be ready to eat in as little as a half an hour.
For the best grilled cheese, slice bread and place cheese inside. Butter each side of the sandwich and place in a saute pan on medium-low heat. Flip with golden brown. Yum! easy.

Tags: grilled cheese, Soups