Fresh Tomato Soup With Crispy Cheese Toast Recipes

Steps:

• Remove cores from tomatoes and cut in half crosswise. Reserve until needed.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and anchovy and cook until garlic is sizzling in the hot fat, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Carefully add the tomatoes with their juices, salt, and red pepper flakes. Toss with a spoon every few minutes until the tomatoes release their liquid and start to break down.
• Once the tomatoes have softened and start to collapse, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have fallen apart and the soup resembles a coarse tomato sauce, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone liner. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Place the bread slices on the prepared baking sheet. Top each slice with sliced basil, and then Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is well browned and crispy around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• Remove soup from heat and pass through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Use the back of a ladle to push all the tomato mixture through. Discard the skins and seeds, which should be the only things left in the strainer.
• Transfer the strained tomato soup back into the saucepan and place back over medium-low heat. Continue cooking to thicken slightly, if desired, or simply bring back to a simmer and serve immediately with the cheese toasts.

Steps:

• Put the quartered tomatoes in a blender and blend until smooth.
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and half of the scallions and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high; strain the pureed tomatoes through a mesh sieve into the pot. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, 1 cup water, the cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
• Toss the remaining scallions with the cheeses; divide the mixture between 2 of the bread slices. Top each with a slice of ham, the remaining cheese mixture and bread.
• Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the sandwiches until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes per side; cut in half.
• Ladle the soup into bowls; top with basil and serve with the sandwiches.

Steps:

• Preheat a grill for cooking over medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill grates.
• Drizzle the cut-sides of the tomato halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place them on the grill cut-side down until they have very dark grill marks, about 8 minutes. Gently flip and grill on the skin-side to char, about 2 minutes. Lightly drizzle some olive oil on a sheet of aluminum foil. Arrange the onion rounds in one layer on the foil. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the foil sheet on the grill grates. Grill until the onions develop dark char on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Turn the grill down to medium for the grilled cheese toast.
• Heat the 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the grilled onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme; stir for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and all their juices and mash down the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to break them up a bit. Add 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt and some more black pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook, about 15 minutes. Take the soup off the heat, and stir in the basil leaves. Very carefully puree the soup in a blender or with a handheld stick blender. When ready to serve, bring the soup back to a simmer, and add the heavy cream. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt, if necessary. If the tomatoes are too acidic, add a little sugar to taste.
• Meanwhile, make the grilled cheese toast: brush the melted butter on both sides of each bread slice. Place the slices on the grill; cook until nicely toasted on the underside, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the bread and top each with 2 slices of cheese. Cover and cook to melt the cheese and toast the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Grind a little pepper on each cheese toast. Serve immediately with the soup.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion softens, 4 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, until tomatoes begin to break down, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add broth and 1 cup water. Simmer until tomatoes are very soft, about 10 minutes. In batches, puree soup in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return soup to pot and simmer 1 minute; stir in cream and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
• In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium until lightly browned but not crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels; discard fat from skillet. Butter 8 slices bread. Place 4 slices, buttered side down, on a work surface. Top with bacon and cheese. Top with remaining bread, buttered side up. In batches, cook sandwiches in skillet over medium-low until cheese melts and bread is golden, about 5 minutes per side. Quarter sandwiches and serve with soup.