👥4 people
⏲️20m
🕐1h 0m
🍽️startermain meal
Fresh garden tomatoes make a delicious soup accompanied by the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. fresh tomatoes
- 2 medium onions, cut in halves
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 8 slices farm style bread
- 2 cups shredded cheese, for Grilled Cheese Class on 7-16-24, we used a mix of cheddar and Red Rock (aged cheddar with aleppo pepper)
- 4 slices american cheese
- Fresh basil
- For The Bacon Jam:
- 1 lb bacon, but into 1’’ pieces
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
Method
- Use tomatoes held at room temperature until fully ripe; core and cut in halves.
- Preheat broiler.
- On a shallow pan, arrange tomato and onion halves cut side down. Place garlic cloves around the vegetables.
- In a cup mix oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Brush over vegetables, coating completely.
- Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat source until lightly charred, 10 to 15 minutes, removing garlic cloves as they brown and soften, and turning pan for even cooking. Turn vegetables over and broil until lightly charred and tender, about 10 minutes longer. Remove pan from broiler and cool; peel skins from tomatoes.
- In a food processor or blender, puree tomatoes, onions and garlic with the pan juices until fairly smooth. Pour into a medium saucepan; stir in chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer to blend flavors, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm. If the soup is too seedy for your liking, strain through a fine mesh strainer.
- For The Bacon Jam: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, render the bacon until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onions are caramelized, about 15 mins.
- Stir in the garlic, brown sugar, maple syrup, vinegar, cayenne, and cooked bacon. Bring mixture to a simmer then reduce heat to low. Cook until the liquid has reduced and thickened and the onions are jammy, 10-15 mins.
- Let cool before transferring to a jar.
- For The Grilled Cheese: Preheat the flat top to 400 F. Once preheated, you may begin cooking the grilled cheese. Using a generous amount of oil or clarified butter as a base, place the farm style bread in the clarified butter. Place all the cheese distributed evenly between each slice of bread, add a little bacon jam to one side. Allow the cheese to sort of melt while the bread gets crispy, 5-7 mins. Place one slice of bread on the other forming the sandwich and allow to cook for another 4-5 mins. Slice in half and serve immediately with warm soup and fresh basil.
