Slow Cooker Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

• Produce

  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 Onion
  • 3 (14.5 oz. cans Tomatoes, fire-roasted

• Canned Goods

  • 3 cup Chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp Tomato paste

• Baking & Spices

  • 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp Brown sugar
  • 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
  • 1 Salt and pepper

• Bread & Baked Goods

  • 1 crusty loaf French or tuscan bread

• Dairy

  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 Butter
  • 1 Cabot seriously sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup Heavy cream

• Beer, Wine & Liquor

  • 1 tbsp Sherry, dry

Found on thatsusanwilliams.com

Description

Ingredients

• 2 T. butter
• 3 (14.5 oz.) cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained (Reserve the juices for use in the soup.)
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. tomato paste
• salt and pepper
• 2 T. all-purpose flour
• 3 c. chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1 T. dry sherry
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• crusty loaf of French or Tuscan bread, thinly sliced
• butter
• Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions

• Melt butter in a 12 skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, onion, sugar, tomato paste and 1/2 t. salt and a few grinds of pepper, and cook until tomatoes are dry and lightly browned. Your goal here is to caramelize the tomatoes, a bit, and this will take about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the broth, scraping up any browned bits in the pan. Transfer everything to your slow cooker. Stir remaining 2 c. chicken broth, the tomato juice you drained from the tomatoes, and bay leaves into slow cooker. Cover and cook until tomatoes begin to break down, 4 to 6 hours on low, depending on how high your slow cooker tends to cook. (I left my soup on Low for 6 hours, and that was fine: but my slow cooker doesnt tend to burn things, so your mileage may vary.) Discard bay leaves. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. I used my Vitamix. (Do not put too much hot liquid into a blender! I only fill my Vitamix about 1/3 full when Im puréeing hot liquids, just to be safe.) Pour each batch of puréed soup into a large saucepan, and Stir in cream, sherry, and cayenne. You may add additional chicken broth at this time, if you prefer a thinner soup, (I didnt.) Re-heat soup over medium low heat, until hot, and taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper, if desired. (Mine needed a bit more salt.) Butter the slices of bread on what will be the outside of the sandwich, and apply as much cheese as you like. Grill sandwiches until you have a lovely brown color, and slice into approximately 1 cubes. I served my grilled cheese croutons on the side of the bowl, so that I could add one at a time, because I didnt want them to get soggy by adding them all at once. Each to her own, however.