Tomato Soup, Cheese Toastie

Tomato Soup, Cheese Toastie
This isn't a copout because I can't think of a description; I'm really just speechless at how much I love this tomato soup with a perfectly buttery cheese toastie to dip. Please enjoy.

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with the flat edge of your knife
  • 4 x 400g tins whole peeled tomatoes (I like the Mutti brand in Australia)
  • 150g butter
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 tsp salt flakes
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 750ml chicken stock
  • 1 Parmesan rind (from a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano)
  • 100ml creme fraiche
  • 1 cup fresh picked basil leaves
  • Bread, butter and cheese for a toastie on the side. The key to the perfect toastie is lots of butter, good cheese like gruyere and cheddar (regular cheese also cuts it, it doesn’t have to be fancy) sizzled in a pan low and slow.

Serves 4

Method

  1. In a large pot, add onion, garlic, tomatoes, butter, chilli flakes, salt flakes, sugar, stock and Parmesan rind.
  2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes, with the lid slightly ajar, until the onions are tender and tomatoes are melty.
  3. Remove and discard Parmesan rind.
  4. Add creme fraiche and basil leaves.
  5. Blend until really smooth using an immersion blender (the KitchenAid cordless one is my fav), or food processor/Thermomix (just make sure the mix has cooled down to warm and not hot if you’re using a blender or food processor).
  6. Taste and season, then serve with a hot, buttery cheese toastie.