Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Rustic Tomato Basil Soup
A hearty San Marzano tomato basil soup paired with gruyere and sharp cheddar grilled cheese sandwiches on buttery sourdough — comfort food, doubled up.
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (1 teaspoon for a little more heat)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- 28 oz peeled San Marzano tomatoes in juice (1 large can, crushed by hand)
- 1 large handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 8 slices sourdough bread
- 2 cups gruyere cheese, shredded
- 2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- In a large pot over medium-low heat, add the ghee and diced onion. Sauté for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning, until deeply browned. This long, slow sauté is what builds real sweetness and depth into the soup base, so don't rush it.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or two, just until fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste and sauté together for another minute, letting it darken slightly and coat the onions and garlic.
- Mix in the chicken stock, salt, and pepper, adding the cayenne too if you like a bit of heat — it won't make the soup overly spicy, just gives it a subtle kick.
- Stir in the crushed San Marzano tomatoes, then cover the pot and bring everything to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low. This is a good point to start on the grilled cheese sandwiches, since the soup is nearly done. A couple of minutes before serving, stir in the basil and heavy cream.
- Meanwhile, place a griddle or nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Generously butter one side of each slice of sourdough bread.
- Once the griddle is hot, place one slice of bread for each sandwich down, butter side facing down. Add a hefty handful of the gruyere and cheddar to each slice, then top with the second slice, butter side facing up.
- Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bottom slice is crisp and golden brown, then gently flip and cook the other side for another 2 minutes.
- Remove the sandwiches from the heat, slice, and serve alongside the tomato basil soup.
Chef's Note: The long, patient sauté on the onion is the real backbone of this soup's flavor — 20 minutes of low, slow cooking coaxes out a natural sweetness that a quick sauté simply can't replicate, and it's worth resisting the urge to turn up the heat to save time. Crushing the San Marzano tomatoes by hand rather than pureeing them keeps the soup genuinely rustic, with visible chunks of tomato throughout instead of a perfectly smooth texture.
Using two cheeses in the grilled cheese — gruyere for its nutty meltability and sharp cheddar for bite — gives the sandwich more complexity than either one alone. Keep the griddle at medium-low rather than cranking the heat; that's what lets the cheese fully melt through by the time the bread turns golden, instead of burning the outside before the inside catches up.
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