Roasted Tomato Soup & Cheddar Panini
Dinner Ideas
Audio By Carbonatix
The ultimate fall comfort food gets a glow-up with hearty roasted tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese.
Roasted Tomato Soup & Cheddar Panini
Served: 4-6
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, plus ½ cup (1 stick) at room temperature, divided
1 medium red onion, chopped
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 28-oz. cans crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup heavy cream or half & half
16 slices sourdough or country bread
16 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
creme frâiche, for serving
A few notes on making this:
- I love my stick blender for this and other blended soups—it purées so easily without the pain of transferring hot soup into a blender, which can be tricky and a bit dangerous if the soup hasn’t cooled enough.
- I don’t use a ton of specialty items in my kitchen, but I will say that a panini press has been invaluable, especially with kids to make a quick grilled cheese or quesadilla when needed. I love my panini press when I make grilled sandwiches to go with this soup.
- You can add cream to this soup at the end for a luxurious texture, but half & half also works nicely.
Directions:
- Heat 4 Tbsp. butter in a Dutch oven or medium stockpot over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned around the edges, 8–10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add tomato paste and cook, stirring to coat onion, until tomato paste is slightly darkened in color, about 2 minutes.
- Add canned tomatoes, chicken stock, thyme, bay leaf, and sugar and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and cook until flavors are combined, 35–40 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in cream or half & half.
- Remove thyme stems and bay leaf and let cool slightly.
- Purée with a stick blender until smooth, or batch small amounts into a blender.
- Heat a panini press or dry skillet over medium heat. Dividing evenly, spread room-temperature butter over bread slices.
- Top unbuttered side of 8 slices with cheddar, dividing evenly.
- Top with remaining bread, buttered side up, and cook, turning once, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes per side.
- Cut sandwiches into soldiers and serve alongside hot soup for dipping.
