Confession time: I’ve never been a huge fan of tomato soup. I think it’s because I’ve always associated it with canned soup, which I never liked as a child. And everything is always so…tomatoey… I just don’t enjoy it.
Now, not to be dramatic or anything, but two years ago, a little place in Roanoke, Virginia in the US changed my views on tomato soup. FOREVERRRR!
We were driving through this little town on our way from Washington DC to Nashville (a veeeeery long drive) and came across this place. It was tucked down a little road and was so adorable inside. Their iced tea was AWESOME. I had two glasses there and then took another one away with me for the car. For some unknown reason, I had a soup craving. I’d eaten a lot of rich things in the previous few days so I think I just wanted something simple. And to be honest, it came with grilled cheese, which I think it the real reason I chose it. The grilled cheese was great of course, but the soup was EVERYTHING.
Here it is. THE tomato and cheddar soup with grilled cheese from Wildflour Restaurant & Bakery. Doesn’t look like much I know but it really was. I assume it’s the addition of cheese. Cheese makes everything better.
So when we got home, I decided I’d been wrong about tomato soup all along. All it needed was some cheese!
So here is my version. I think roasting the tomatoes mellows out the tomato flavour a bit.
So pretty.
I usually make this soup in bulk so I can put it in little containers for the freezer. I also usually make a few containers without the cheese for Rich. We really are so different sometimes…
It’s a great one to grab out of the fridge or freezer and take to work. And I always have to have a grilled cheese sandwich with it for dipping. The one in the picture is using my Russell Hobbs toastie marker – which I’ve probably used every other day since I got it…
Enjoy!
Grace x
Roasted tomato & cheddar soup
Ingredients
Chicken
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 220 degrees (C) / 425 degrees (F).
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First, cut all of the tomatoes in half along with the red peppers and arrange flat on a baking sheet. Drizzle over 2 tbsp of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over a medium-low heat and add in the onion. Cook gently until they’re translucent, for about 20 minutes. Make sure you stir it often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and go brown.
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After 20 minutes, sprinkle over the flour and stir for about 3 minutes to get all the flour soaked up.
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Once the tomatoes and peppers are done, add them into the pot with the chicken stock, sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, thyme and black pepper.
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Raise the heat to medium until it simmers gently and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, making sure you stir it often to stop it sticking to the bottom.
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Take off the heat and very carefully use a hand blender to blend the soup. This could also be done in a blender or food processor but I find it easiest (and cleanest!) with a hand blender.
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Once blended, add the cream, grated cheese and basil. Turn the heat back on to very low and allow the cheese to melt into the soup.
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Once the cheese is melted and the soup is heated through, serve with a sprinkling of basil and a little extra cheese if you like. You also can’t go wrong with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side for dipping!
