Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

The classic pair — a crisp grilled cheese on the potato bread and a quick, creamy tomato soup to dunk it in

Serves 4 · 25 min

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Quick tomato soup
2 Tbsp butter or olive oil · 1 onion, diced · 2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can whole/crushed tomatoes (or ~3 cups fresh, peeled)
1½ cups stock or water
½ tsp sugar · salt · pepper · pinch baking soda (tames acidity — optional)
¼–½ cup cream, half-and-half, or milk
fresh basil · optional: a parmesan rind simmered in
Grilled cheese (4)
8 slices potato bread
8 oz cheese, grated or sliced — cheddar + provolone melts best (Swiss too)
mayo (or softened butter) for the outsides

Build the soup base. Soften the onion in the butter, add garlic and the tomato paste, and cook a minute until the paste darkens — that caramelizing is deep tomato flavor.
Simmer & blend. Add the tomatoes, stock, sugar, salt, and parm rind if using; simmer 15 min, then blend smooth (stick blender, or a jar blender in batches). A pinch of baking soda calms the acidity if it bites.
Finish the soup. Off the heat, stir in the cream and torn basil; taste for salt. Keep warm while you griddle.
Assemble the sandwiches. Pile cheese between two slices of potato bread; spread mayo on the outer faces. Mayo browns evenly and won't scorch like butter.
Griddle low & slow. Cook over medium-low, pressing gently, 3–4 min a side, until deep golden and the cheese is fully molten. Low heat is the trick — rush it and the bread burns before the cheese melts. A lid for a minute helps it melt through.
Serve to dunk. Halve the sandwiches, bowl the soup, and dunk. Grate a little cheese or crack pepper over the soup if you like.

Steps — tap one to keep your place

1. Build the soup base. Soften the onion in the butter, add garlic and the tomato paste, and cook a minute until the paste darkens — that caramelizing is deep tomato flavor.

2. Simmer & blend. Add the tomatoes, stock, sugar, salt, and parm rind if using; simmer 15 min, then blend smooth (stick blender, or a jar blender in batches). A pinch of baking soda calms the acidity if it bites.

3. Finish the soup. Off the heat, stir in the cream and torn basil; taste for salt. Keep warm while you griddle.

4. Assemble the sandwiches. Pile cheese between two slices of potato bread; spread mayo on the outer faces. Mayo browns evenly and won't scorch like butter.

5. Griddle low & slow. Cook over medium-low, pressing gently, 3–4 min a side, until deep golden and the cheese is fully molten. Low heat is the trick — rush it and the bread burns before the cheese melts. A lid for a minute helps it melt through.

6. Serve to dunk. Halve the sandwiches, bowl the soup, and dunk. Grate a little cheese or crack pepper over the soup if you like.

✨ Untested — Claude drafted this one from scratch; it hasn't been cooked and amended in our kitchen yet, so treat the amounts as a starting point. Low salt — salt at the end and taste as you go; broth, cheese, and canned goods already bring salt.