Honeyed Tomato Soup with Cheddar and Onion Marmalade Panini

The weather really has been miserable this past week . . . cold, showery and windy! Mind you, we do need the rain. Our garden is simply gasping for it!



One isn't really inclined to eat warm weather food on this rainy cold days though. One wants comforting sustenance . . . rib sticking, tummy warming, soulful food.
A nice warming soup always fits the bill perfectly. Especially soups such as this tantelizingly delicious Honeyed Tomato Soup here today! It's simple, easy, quick and fantastically tasty!



Rich and herby with just a hint of sweet . . . your guests will wonder what your secret is. It tastes like it should have a bazillion calories in it, but guess what?? THERE IS HARDLY ANY FAT! It's just tomatoes, herbs, love fat milk . . . and that incredible richness comes from tinned skimmed evaporated milk.



Oh sure . . . you could use cream, but it's not really needed. You get all the deliciousness of a full cream soup, without any of the fat or calories!

I like that. Of course, one cannot say the same about the accompanying sandwich, but then . . . you can't have it all can you?



*Honeyed Tomato Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A deliciously simple tomato soup, slightly sweetened with honey. I find the honey helps the tomatoes from being too acidic. It just tastes wonderful. Who would guess that is is low in fat!

2 (390g) pouched of chopped Italian tomatoes with onions and garlic (about 4 cups)
2 ribs of celery chopped
splash of white wine
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 TBS runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
250ml of skimmed evaporated tinned milk (1 cup)
250ml of 2% milk (1 cup)

Place the tomatoes, celery, white wine, sage and rosemary into a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer. Stir in the honey and season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the celery is soft. Blitz until smooth with a stick blender if you have it, or very carefully in a regular blender. Alternately you can put it through a moulee. Return to the heat. Whisk in most of the tinned milk, reserving a bit for a garnishing. Whisk in the milk. Heat through. Ladle out into 4 heated soup bowls. Drizzle a bit of the reserved tinned milk on top and drag through it with a toothpick to make a lovely swirl.



These are quite simply one of my favourite ways to make a grilled cheese. Simple and yet filled with wonderfully rich flavours! The tanginess of the strong cheddar cheese, combined with the sweetness of red onion marmalade, tucked inside a sturdy loaf and grilled until it is scrummily oozingly delicious! If you can't find Onion Marmalade, you could use a good chutney, and then again you could make your own.



*Cheddar and Onion Marmalade Panini*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

These are soooo good!! The perfect "go with" for a cup of soup!

8 thin slices of a sturdily rustic white loaf (I used a French Boule, which
I sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices)
4 generous tablespoons of onion marmalade
8 ounces of a good strong farmhouse cheddar, sliced
softened butter for buttering

Heat your panini press. Lay out 4 slices of your bread. Spread 1 TBS of onion marmalade onto each. Top with a generous amount of cheddar, dividing it equally amongst the bread. Top with the other 4 slices. Butter each sandwich lightly on each side and place into the Panini press. Grill until the cheese is meltingly scrummy and the panini have nice grill lines. Serve immediately.