Roasted Tomato Soup & Cheddar Panini

Audio By Carbonatix

Served: 4-6

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, plus ½ cup (1 stick) at room temperature, divided

1 medium red onion, chopped

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 28-oz. cans crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

4 cups chicken stock

2 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup heavy cream or half & half

16 slices sourdough or country bread

16 ounces sharp cheddar, grated

creme frâiche, for serving

A few notes on making this:

I love my stick blender for this and other blended soups—it purées so easily without the pain of transferring hot soup into a blender, which can be tricky and a bit dangerous if the soup hasn’t cooled enough.
I don’t use a ton of specialty items in my kitchen, but I will say that a panini press has been invaluable, especially with kids to make a quick grilled cheese or quesadilla when needed. I love my panini press when I make grilled sandwiches to go with this soup.
You can add cream to this soup at the end for a luxurious texture, but half & half also works nicely.

Directions:

Heat 4 Tbsp. butter in a Dutch oven or medium stockpot over medium heat.
Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned around the edges, 8–10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring to coat onion, until tomato paste is slightly darkened in color, about 2 minutes.
Add canned tomatoes, chicken stock, thyme, bay leaf, and sugar and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and cook until flavors are combined, 35–40 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in cream or half & half.
Remove thyme stems and bay leaf and let cool slightly.
Purée with a stick blender until smooth, or batch small amounts into a blender.
Heat a panini press or dry skillet over medium heat. Dividing evenly, spread room-temperature butter over bread slices.
Top unbuttered side of 8 slices with cheddar, dividing evenly.
Top with remaining bread, buttered side up, and cook, turning once, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes per side.
Cut sandwiches into soldiers and serve alongside hot soup for dipping.