We all need to have a good, easy and quick tomato soup recipe, that is what I thought before I started this post. It is a great alternative when you are in a rush and craving a good grilled cheese sandwich as well. Dinner is done in less than 30 mins and it tastes very homey. Once you make this soup, I don’t think you will ever open a tomato soup can anymore or at least I hope so.

I always try to have a can of whole peeled tomatoes in my pantry. I may use it for sauce but most likely it will be used for soup. The rest of the ingredients are the usual suspects: dry herbs,  onions, garlic, fresh basil, broth and of course my frozen parmesan rind.

I usually pair this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, we can have them cut in the middle and dunk them in the soup as we eat them or just cut the sandwich in one inch squares and dunk them in the soup as cheesy croutons! I had some brie cheeese already open and fresh bread, so I decided to make brie grilled cheese in our griller and they came out very yummy and decadent! Either way you make your grilled cheese,  they complement each other very well, I don’t know why but  I am guessing you already knew that.

I love to make it with sour cream since I like this soup very creamy but you could substitute the sour cream or cream cheese for a couple of tablespoons of balsamic reduction. You could also add some red pepper, if you like a little spice and/or a squeeze  of fresh lime or lemon juice.

Tomato Soup with Grilled Brie Croutons

Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients

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Soup

1 can 28 oz of whole peeled tomatoes (I used Cento, San Marzano)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 sweet onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 to 4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 tsp of dry thyme

1/2 tsp of dry oregano

1/2 cup of sour cream or cream cheese

2 tbsp of fresh basil

1 oz parmesan rind

1/2 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of pepper

For the croutons

4 oz of brie cheese, sliced

4 white bread slices

1 tbsp of butter

Instructions

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Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, for about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the thyme, half the salt and pepper and stir for another minute.

Add the tomatoes and the broth and bring to a boil. Add the parmesan rind  and reduce heat to low, add the basil and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.

Blend soup with an immersion blender and process until smooth. Add the sour cream or cream cheese. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

For the croutons:

Spread 2 bread slices with butter on the outer side and place them in the pan at medium heat. Place the cheese slices on top of each  bread slice and add 1 slice of bread on top of each slice with the cheese. Cook until golden in the bottom for about 3-4 minutes and flip once.

 

Notes

You could serve the whole sandwich and dunk it in the soup while you eat it or you could cut it in 1 inch squares and serve them on top of the soup.