ROASTED TOMATO SOUP & A CHEESE TOASTIE
The ultimate comfort food—simple, satisfying, and delicious.
Every couple of months, I get a craving for a cheese toastie and a bowl of rich, roasted tomato soup. It’s the ultimate comfort food combo—simple, satisfying, and delicious. And let’s be honest now that the colder months are rolling in, there's nothing better than this elite match. Getting it right elevates the experience, so let’s make the ultimate cheese toastie and tomato soup!
Ingredients (4 portions):
Soup-
800g mixed tomatoes
1 large sweet onion (or 2 smaller ones)
A whole head of garlic
2 shallots
10 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Large pinch salt
2 tbsp tomato paste
15 basil leaves
500ml chicken stock (more depending on consistency preference)
100ml single cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Toastie -
8 slices thick white bread
Butter for toasting
8 slices American cheese
100g Parmesan
200g cheddar
200g Gouda
Method
Step 1: Cut the tomatoes into quarters and place them in a baking tray.
Step 2: Peel the shallots and onion, cut them in half, and also place them in the tray (make sure to save half the sweet onion for later).
Step 3: Cut the top off the garlic and add it to the tray along with the thyme. Then add the salt, vinegar, and olive oil, making sure everything is coated evenly.
Step 4: Place it in the oven at 180C for 25/30 minutes until everything’s softened.
Step 5: To a pot add olive oil, the other half of the onion (diced), and 6 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced or minced).
Step 6: Sauté for 3 minutes then add the tomato paste cook for around 5 minutes, making sure your heat is not too high or it will burn the paste.
Step 7: Add the tomatoes and everything else from the baking tray into the pot, making sure to take the thyme stems out and squeeze the roasted garlic cloves in.
Step 8: Add the chicken stock and blend till smooth, then add the basil and blend again.
Step 9: Pour in 80ml of the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Optionally, you can add more white wine vinegar at this point and pass the soup through a sieve if you want it really smooth.
Step 10: To make the toastie, grate the cheddar, Gouda, and Parmesan and mix well together.
Step 11: Butter up a pan on medium heat, add one slice of bread, the 2 slices of American cheese, a hefty amount of the grated cheese and top with the second slice of bread
Step 12: Press down hard on the toastie, once one side is nice and golden flip and press it down hard again. Tip: Make sure the other side gets some butter too.
Step 13: Cover with a lid and continue cooking until the cheese is melted, I like to keep flipping the toastie to get a nice even colour on both sides. Tip: You can add a couple of drops of water to create steam and melt the cheese quicker.
Step 14: Serve and top with a drizzle of olive oil and cream and a couple of basil leaves.
