The Lunch Lady
Tomato soup and grilled cheese
San Marzano tomato soup with whipped ricotta, grilled cheese on Arnie's sourdough cheddar loaf and sliced Pink Lady apples. A warm bowl and a crisp sandwich for dipping.
Published · Updated
- Servings
- 4; about 7 to 8 cups of soup and 4 sandwiches
- Total time
- About 50 minutes
Good bread, and a little extra ricotta
Tomato soup and grilled cheese was the plan. Arnie's sourdough cheddar loaf, American cheese and a bowl of soup finished with butter.
Jimmy and Arnie Phelan, the owners of Arnie's, heard about what I'm trying to do in this kitchen and have been supporting us with fresh, locally baked bread. It's delicious, and it makes a difference. I really appreciate the support they've given us.
I also had a good amount of ricotta on hand. I wanted to use it to bring some freshness and a little tang to the soup, with flavors that worked together. Ricotta can be grainy, and kids don't love grainy. So it went into the food processor with extra virgin olive oil, salt, honey and lemon zest until it was smooth and velvety.
The best part was hearing that one of the fifth graders went back for more and was eating it straight off his plate. He said it tasted like the inside of a cannoli.
Keep the cheese simple
You can get creative with the cheese. Use another good melting cheese or combine a couple you like. For the school kitchen, I kept it simple and used American. It's about as melty and gooey as it gets.
At home, use Arnie's sourdough cheddar loaf if you can find it, or another sliced sourdough. A thin layer of butter on the outside gives the bread some color. The sandwiches toast in the oven while the soup simmers, so everything comes together at about the same time.
Home recipe
Tomato soup and grilled cheese
The Lunch Lady · Jared Veldheer
- Servings
- 4; about 7 to 8 cups of soup and 4 sandwiches
- Prep time
- About 15 minutes
- Cook time
- About 35 minutes
- Total time
- About 50 minutes
Equipment: Large saucepan or Dutch oven, immersion blender, small food processor and rimmed metal baking sheet.
Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go.
Tomato soup
Whipped ricotta
Oven grilled cheese
Sliced apples
Instructions
Tomato soup
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 7 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and their juices, water, salt and pepper. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, partly covered. Stir occasionally. Heat the oven and prepare the sandwiches while the soup cooks.
- Take the pot off the heat and stir in the butter. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth and velvety, keeping the blade submerged to prevent splashing. If the soup is too thick, blend in a little water.
- Taste and adjust the salt. If the tomatoes taste sharp, add sugar a little at a time. If the soup needs more brightness, add lemon juice a teaspoon at a time. Warm gently if needed without bringing it back to a boil.
Whipped ricotta
- Put the ricotta in a small food processor. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Process for about 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed, until smooth. Add another teaspoon of oil if it needs loosening.
- Add a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of honey and ½ teaspoon of lemon zest, then blend briefly. Taste and add more honey, salt or zest as you like. Spoon a little onto each bowl of soup and serve the rest at the table.
Oven grilled cheese
- Heat the oven to 425°F conventional or 400°F convection. Spread a thin layer of butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Place four slices buttered-side down on a rimmed metal baking sheet. Divide the cheese among them, spreading it to the edges. Add the remaining bread, buttered-side up.
- Bake for about 7 to 9 minutes, until the bottoms are golden. Turn each sandwich with a spatula and bake for another 4 to 6 minutes, until both sides are toasted and the cheese has melted. Start checking early if the bread is thin or your pan is dark.
- Cut the sandwiches diagonally. Serve with the soup and apples.
Sliced apples
- Wash and core the apples, leaving the skin on. Slice just before serving and divide among the plates.
Recipe notes
- The soup and sandwiches cook at the same time. Get the sandwiches ready during the simmer, then finish the soup while they toast.
- Regular canned whole peeled tomatoes work if you don't have San Marzano. Taste before adding the optional sugar or lemon.
- A sturdy sandwich loaf also works. Thin slices toast faster, so check the underside as they bake.
- If you don't have a small food processor, whisk the ricotta with the oil, salt, honey and lemon zest until creamy. It will have a little more texture.