Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

I think we've all had grilled cheese and tomato soup as children. I know I did! My mother made it on a regular rotation in the early 1970s. Especially on a cold day, a bowl of steaming hot tomato soup was perfect alongside an ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwich.

I've created a grown-up version, which takes very little time, because it's made from pantry ingredients.

The calendar might say spring, but the reality here in Central New York is that fresh produce is all still imported--read, expensive--and so I take advantage of grocery staples.

I also don't eat too many sandwiches these days, but cheese is still on the table, sans bread. I made frico to accompany this bowl of soup--my own tomato soup and grilled cheese.



Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with Frico
serves 1

1-1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon chopped roasted red peppers (I get these in a jar--but you could also make your own)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
pinch thyme
dash cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
frico (recipe follows)


In a small saucepan, combine broth, red pepper, tomato paste, thyme and cayenne. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from heat; puree using a hand blender.

Ladle into a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a few frico--either floating in the soup or alongside. (Note: the frico are quite salty; I prefer to add no other salt.)



Frico
Frico is really just a fancy word to describe cheese crisps. They can be made on the stove in a saucepan, but I like to do these in the oven.

Romano or Parmesan cheese grated over the large holes of a box grater, about 1/4 cup (I used romano)

Preheat oven to 400*F. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper (waxed side up) and make little mounds of cheese. Toast in oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until melted and golden around the edges. Immediately remove from oven. Cool 5 minutes. Peel frico from wax paper and enjoy.



This is my entry to Recipe Remix, a new foodblogging event to highlight new interpretations of old stand-bys. Visit the roundup for lots of great new twists to the tried and true!