Roasted Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:
(Roast Tomatoes)
2 large hothouse tomatoes
3 plum tomatoes
5 cloves garlic
1 small bunch thyme
½ cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Red pepper flakes
(Soup)
2 tbsp butter
3 whole canned tomatoes, plus juices
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream
(Grilled Cheese)
1 tbsp butter
½ loaf Challah bread
¼ lb Jarlsberg cheese

Directions:
To roast the tomatoes, start by removing the core from the top. Halve the tomatoes and place them cut side down in a glass casserole dish.
Add 1 sliced shallot and 5 cloves of crushed garlic to the pan, along with the sprigs of thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
Coat well with olive oil. Cover casserole with foil and roast at 500° for 20-30 minutes, until tomatoes are soft.
When oil has cooled, remove tomatoes, thyme and garlic. Discard thyme and chop the roasted garlic, along with two additional raw cloves. Reserve the tomato juices and olive oil that have gathered in the bottom of the pan.
Thinly slice remaining two shallots. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Sweat garlic and shallots until softened. Let them brown a little on the bottom of the pan. When browning occurs, use the reserved tomato juices to deglaze and scrape everything up.
Add in roasted tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato juices and chicken stock. Bring up to nearly boiling and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tomatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes.
Puree the soup in a food processor or blender. Add back into the pot and finish seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add in cream and adjust the soup’s consistency with stock and / or water, if necessary. Serve hot with the grilled cheese.
To make the grilled cheese, cut the bread and cheese to desired size. Heat a small pan with butter and put sandwich in, open faced, with cheese on both sides. When you want to get the cheese really nice and melted, toss a teaspoon of water into the hot pan, then quickly cover with a lid. Leave closed for 30 seconds and, when you remove the lid, the cheese will be melted and bread will be browned. If not, repeat water steaming process, making sure butter doesn’t burn in the pan. Close the sandwich and eat hot, with hot soup, on rainy day.