- 1 large onion, diced small
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 Tb olive oil
- 2 carrots, diced small
- 3 stalks celery, diced small
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced small
- 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes and the juice they’re packed in
- 2 Tb dried basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tb red pepper flakes
- 1 Tb sugar
Quick Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
(Serves 4)
For the croutons:
- 2 slices of your favorite bread; I used sourdough
- 3 slices of your favorite cheese. Cheddar is nice; I used gouda.
- 1 tsp of butter
In a soup pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for about five minutes to soften. Add the celery, carrot and bell pepper, and continue to sauté for another eight minutes until all of the vegetables have softened a bit. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for another 15-20 minutes until everything is fork-tender.
While the soup is simmering, make your grilled cheese by sandwiching the cheese slices between the two pieces of bread and then cook it in a small skillet over medium heat in the butter until each side is a nice toasty golden brown. Remove from heat and then cut your grilled cheese into bite-sized cubes for croutons. Set aside until the soup is finished.
To the soup, add the basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and the sugar and let simmer for a few minutes to incorporate flavors.
Remove from heat and puree the soup either in small batches in a blender or food processor or use an immersion blender. You can add a bit of water or broth if you’d like your soup to be thinner but I like the slightly thicker consistency of the pureed vegetables. Top with the grilled cheese croutons and enjoy!
