Quick Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese

Name: Quick Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes; 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth, plus more as needed; 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; Salt and black pepper; Mayonnaise; 8 slices brioche or milk bread, crusts removed; 1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella (4 ounces); 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

By Eric Kim

Published Jan. 29, 2023

Quick Tomato Soup With Grilled Cheese — Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(2,440)
Comments: Read comments

When done well, this age-old combination can be exactly what you want. Here, the cooking is as easy as the eating: While you get the soup started in a pot with a can of tomatoes and little more than onion and butter (in the style of Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce), you assemble and pan-fry the sandwiches. The particular joy of these lies in their soft, quiet flavors: A thin layer of mayonnaise spread on the inside of the bread heats with the mozzarella, a mild cheese that lets you taste the bread and butter as they are. With a filling this rich and gooey, you want a delicate sweet enriched loaf like brioche or milk bread.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Tomato Soup

1(28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
¾cup chicken or vegetable broth, plus more as needed
1large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4tablespoons unsalted butter
1½teaspoons dried oregano
1teaspoon granulated sugar
Salt and black pepper

For the Grilled Cheese

Mayonnaise
8slices brioche or milk bread, crusts removed
1cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella (4 ounces)
¼teaspoon dried oregano
2tablespoons unsalted butter

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Make the soup: Dump the canned tomatoes and their juices into a medium pot and, using your hands, tear into coarse chunks. Swish the broth in the empty tomato can and add to the pot.
Step 2
Stir in the onion, butter, oregano and sugar, and season generously with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and the tomatoes have broken down, 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, make the sandwiches: Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on one side of each of the 4 bread slices and evenly sprinkle the cheese and a little oregano on top of the mayonnaise. Top with the cheeseless slices, mayonnaise-side down.
Step 4
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium. Add the sandwiches and cook until golden brown on the bottoms, 2 to 3 minutes. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan, then flip the sandwiches with a spatula, move them around to coat with the butter and cook until the other side is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn heat to lowest setting to keep sandwiches warm.
Step 5
Carefully purée the tomato soup using a blender until smooth and creamy, adding more broth if needed to loosen to your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the grilled cheeses to a cutting board and cut each in half diagonally. Serve alongside the soup.