It’s been an eventful few days at our house, and not in a good way. Monday night Shane and I both came down with the dreaded 24-hour stomach bug. I can’t remember the last time either of us was so sick, and to be frank, it stunk. There was no way either of us could get to the store to pick up Gatorade, ginger ale, or any of the other remedies we craved, so we picked up the phone and called my mom who came to the rescue with those things, plus some bland foods to get us on the road to recovery. After spending the entire day in bed yesterday, we’re both finally starting to feel human again today, thankfully. Now I just need to disinfect every surface of this house, and hope it’s the last we’ll see of this bug for a long time!
Had I been feeling up to it, I would have shared this soup with you yesterday (and yes, the secret is out, I don’t write/schedule blog posts in advance π ) Tomato soup and grilled cheese is one of my go-to comfort food meals in the winter, and I’ve been eager to try this recipe for quite a while. As you’ve probably already gathered from the title, there isn’t any cream in this soup – instead, the recipe calls for sandwich bread. The bread thickens the soup and gives it a smooth, creamy texture. The ingredient list is short, and really allows the flavor of the tomatoes to shine. A full recipe makes enough to serve 6-8 people so you’ll likely have leftovers, and they reheat perfectly for a quick and easy lunch or dinner another day.
I never eat tomato soup without grilled cheese, and I’d seen the idea for these grilled cheese croutons floating around over the past year. It’s basically just a grilled cheese sandwich cut into tiny squares, but they sure do look good in the soup π I toasted my bread before making the grilled cheese, hoping it would be a bit more sturdy. The “croutons” did still get soggy if they sat in the soup too long, so I found it best to add just a few at a time. I really enjoyed the way they soaked up the flavor of the soup. I could easily eat this every day over the course of a long winter!
Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup
from Cook’s Illustrated
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
pinch red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 large slices good-quality sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Mix in the tomatoes and their juice. Using a potato masher, mash the tomatoes to break them down into smaller pieces (no bigger than 2 inches). Stir in the sugar and bread then bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.
Turn off the heat under the pot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and puree the soup with an immersion blender (or, if you don’t have one, in a traditional blender – you’ll probably want to do it in 2 or 3 batches. Split the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the batches as you puree.) You can strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer if you want a perfectly smooth consistency. Stir the chicken broth into the soup and return the soup to a boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with the chives when serving.
Glad you guys are feeling more human! I had the stomach bug in December and it came on like a ton of bricks. it’s the worst! This soup sounds fabulous, and I love the little grilled cheese croutons!
This would be a great treat for your valentine. You could even make a little heart with cream (like here: http://yellebellyboo.blogspot.com/2011/02/shrimp-bisque-with-sherry.html)
Clever, clever, clever. I am inspired.
So glad you are feeling better! I have laid my eyes on these grilled cheese croutons too and they look lovely, but have yet to try them.
Sounds delicious and then healthier than a cream version. I love the color.
OH that look so good!! Never thought of doing that with the bread. π
I’m sorry you felt like death, that sounds just awful! I love tomato soup and this looks just divine.
P.S. I don’t write and schedule blog posts either. π
This looks amazing.
Tab
my-cliffnotes.blogspot.com
Ugh, sorry you guys were sick. I love the bits of grilled cheese in this!
Glad you guys are feeling better! Stomach bugs are no fun for anyone! Love the idea of grilled cheese croutons! Perfect for tomato soup!
Yes, please. I will have this with you…and drop in my croutons one at a time…oh this looks so delicious!
So glad you guys are feeling better! Stomach bugs are the worst!
The soup looks fantastic. I would’ve never guessed bread as the secret ingredient!
Those grilled cheese croutons are just adorable. I love the little sandwiches floating in the soup!
Grilled cheese croutons? What a brilliant idea. I know what I’m doing with my leftover bread from TWD. I can’t wait to make this!
I’m glad you guys are feeling better. That does not sound like fun.
sorry you werent feeling well but the soup and those little grill cheese…..too cute and looks soooo good!
Grilled cheese and tomato soup is my FAVORITE combination. What a good idea:)
I had the flu earlier this year, I totally feel your pain! It’s the worst but I’m glad you’re on the road to wellness! And that you shared this soup. I am a huge sucker for tomato soup and grilled cheese. Think you can use any sandwich bread in the soup? I’d love to try it with whole wheat!
Oh I love this!
@Kim – I think it’d probably be ok with whole wheat bread, but haven’t tried it. Let me know how it goes if you try!
awesome presentation …and i loved it absolutely..do visit mine in ur free time π
http://preeti-kitchen.blogspot.in/
Oh yikes, I’m so glad you guys are feeling better, and good thing your mom is close by! This soup looks awesome – I grew up loving tomato soup and grilled cheese too, but still haven’t found a homemade recipe I love. Looking forward to trying this!
Glad you’re feeling better. This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing.
So glad you’re feeling better. What a sweet mom you have, too. I love the idea of using bread to thicken the tomato soup. I’ll have to try it out. And the grilled cheese croutons are genius!
Grilled Cheese croutons! Genius!
We had this with our supper last night and it was really delicious! Rick meant to bring the leftovers with him for lunch today but he forgot it. Guess I’ll have to finish it for lunch myself! Thanks again Tracey.
This recipe looks great! I’ve been looking for a great tomato soup that doesn’t include cream. Perfect comfort food!
This soup was awesome! We had it as a starter to a couple of meals. The flavor was intense, very good tomato taste! (Perfect comfort food for battling a cold as well)
I’m bookmarking this one – love that it doesn’t have cream in it. The croutons are way too cute!
I hope you and Shane are fully recovered. How awful that you were both sick at the same time.
B is a fan of tomato soup, so I’ll have to make this one for her. I’ve seen the recipe in CI, but haven’t gotten around to trying it. I love the idea of the grilled cheese croutons. =)
have you ever tried it in the crock pot? I wonder how that would do?
I LOVE the addition of grilled cheese sandwich croutons! So cute!! I am bookmarking this and making the soup and sandwich this week!!
@Johna – I haven’t tried it in the crock pot. It has such a short cooking time, I personally probably wouldn’t bother, but if you give it a try let me know how it goes!
yeah, wasn’t really paying attention. LOL!! I have to try this! thank you for the recipe!
made this and it tastes divine….a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
I’m secretly on a mission to find the best tomato soup there is (which surely will never be accomplished as there are just SO MANY good soups teehee) – this is a new one on my list. I prefer fairly tomato-y tomato soups (…uhm, if that makes sense) so ones without cream are meeting my taste more often. And white bread as a thickener? This soup sure seems special!
Glad you’re feeling better!
Cheers,
Tobias
Sorry to hear about your flu. Not so fun. A nice soup is a good way to ease back into the world of food. I have been in search of a good creamy tomato soup recipe at home. And those croutons are pretty darn cute. Looking forward to trying this.
Very good!!! Easy and delicious.