Grilled Cheese and Real Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 2 cans Crushed tomatoes, no salt added
• 1 Yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, smashed
• 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp Brown sugar
• ½ cup Fresh basil
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• ½ cup 1% milk
• 8 slices Sourdough bread
• 3 oz Sharp cheddar, grated
• 2 oz Gruyère, grated
• 3 tbsp Olive oil mayonnaise

Method

1. Cook the onion in the oil over medium for 10 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the garlic for 1.
2. Add the tomatoes, broth, sugar and salt. Simmer 25 minutes — long enough for the canned-tomato tinny edge to cook off completely.
3. Blend with the basil until smooth, then stir in the milk. Off the heat from here.
4. Grate both cheeses and mix them. Cheddar for flavor, gruyère for the melt; either alone is a compromise.
5. Spread mayonnaise on the outsides of the bread. It has a higher smoke point than butter and browns into an even, blistered crust.
6. Griddle over medium-low — low and slow, 4 minutes a side — so the cheese is fully molten by the time the bread is dark. Cut on the diagonal and serve with the soup for dipping.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Medium-low heat, and a lid for the first two minutes. High heat gives you a browned sandwich full of solid cheese.

🧒 For the kids

This is the dinner children remember. Let them dip.

🥡 Leftovers

The soup keeps 5 days and freezes 3 months. Sandwiches, obviously, do not.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.