Tomato soup with grilled cheese
Buttery, velvety tomato soup and a crackly golden grilled cheese for dunking, the coziest pairing there is, from a can and a block of cheddar.
- 45 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.94 a serving
- 890 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 5 tbsp butter, divided, softened
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and halved
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- ¼ cup milk, for a creamier soup (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 890 calories, 30 g protein, 86 g carbs and 51 g fat, and costs about $2.94 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No sourdough bread? French bread or white bread or whole wheat bread works.
- No cheddar cheese? Shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese or mexican blend cheese works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the crushed tomatoes, 1 cup water, 3 tablespoons butter, the onion halves, sugar, basil, salt and garlic powder in a medium pot.
over medium-high heat, then to low and with the for 25 minutes, stirring now and then.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Low heatTimer: 25 min
Dolly’s tip: The onion flavors the soup while it simmers, then comes out whole, so the soup stays smooth with no blender.While it simmers, spread the rest of the butter on one side of each slice of bread, right to the edges.
Dolly’s tip: Buttering to the edges is what makes the whole slice golden.Lay 2 slices butter side down, pile on the cheddar, and top with the other slices, butter side up.
Heat a large over medium heat and cook the sandwiches 3 to 4 minutes, until deep underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Flip and cook 3 minutes more, until and the cheese has . If the bread browns too fast, a little.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Fish the onion out of the soup. Stir in the milk if you like it creamy, then with the pepper and taste for salt.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Cut the sandwiches in half and serve with the soup for dunking.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
