Soup and Sandwich: Fall Edition
Ah, yes. Whether it's from Panera Bread or straight from grandma's kitchen on sick days, soup is mainly a pot of love with all the right contents. Growing up in a Hispanic household, I remember the smell of sancocho, a very popular Dominican soup, with a bowl of white rice in the kitchen, or even something as simple as chicken noodle soup (my grandma would sometimes mix it up with instaramen ingredients). Later down the line, I was obsessed with the concept of butter garlic bread dipped into fresh tomato soup. The roasted tomato and pumpkin soup recipe by Purely Ally, served with brie, fig, and apple grilled cheese by two peas & their pod, reminded me of these warm flavors .
The explosion of flavor, texture, aroma, color hit all the senses! I started making the soup first, putting the tomatoes to roast while combining all the spices (including paprika and maple syrup) and pumpkin puree together in a blender. I may have sliced the tomatoes a tad bigger than half an inch so they stayed in the oven a little over 35-40 minutes. Nonetheless, they came out tender and mingled in nicely with the other contents in the blender. I poured out what turned out to be a creamy warm puree of pumpkin and tomato awesomeness into a dutch oven, an appliance I've been wanting to use for a while but was too afraid to until today. I set the temperature to boil (not too high to avoid any scorching of the the pot), stirred, and simmered. The hearty smell of comfort spice soothed my nostrils and scented my kitchen (and the rest of the apartment) as I moved on to preparing the sandwich. There's nothing more assuring and exciting than to smell a recipe cooked right. Finally, I put together my sandwich and laid it out on a non-stick skillet. Eager enough, I kept multi tasking with my hands by trying the soup each time I turned over the sandwich on the grill. I immediately hurried to my cabinets, plating the sandwich I cut in half, and bowling the gluten- free soup I garnished with more thyme.
This was yet another dish I was so happy to make. Any adjustments (which are very very few) would be to leave the sandwich on the skillet a little longer on low to medium heat, long enough to watch the cheese melt out and sizzle. I would also maybe add some honey or agave and maybe a little less red onion. And finally, I'm curious to make this soup again only this time substituting coconut milk with cashew milk (much like I did with my mushroom soup in the previous post). I also forgot to garnish the pumpkin seeds and parsley. I guess you can tell I was too excited. Otherwise, this meal is a 10/10 and requires attention to aroma. The recipe for the soup serves 7 and luckily for me, I made an extra sandwich. So I know what I'm lunching on tomorrow (hopefully the taste will be the same or enhanced).
Below I attached the ingredients and preparation for each recipe. You can also find them in their blogs I've linked above. So happy to share this with you all. Enjoy!
Fall For Roasted Tomato and Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
6 medium sized tomatoes
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can pumpkin puree
3 Cup vegetable broth
1 Cup water (optional)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 can full fat coconut milk
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut tomatoes horizontally about 1/2 inch thick. Use a knife to remove the stems.
Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake on middle rack for approximately 30-35 minutes until tomatoes are soft but not burning. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
While tomatoes are cooling, saute garlic for 1-2 minutes in a small saucepan with oil or water over low to medium heat until they’re fragrant. Be careful not to burn it.
Add garlic to blender with tomatoes, pumpkin, vegetable broth, maple syrup (if using) and all spices. Blend on high until completely smooth.
Add soup mixture to heavy pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. If soup is too thick, add water. Adjust the salt, pepper and spices to your taste, adding more if desired.
Once soup has simmered for 30 minutes, remove from heat and stir in coconut milk. Serve immediately with bread, pumpkin seeds, parsley, or other desired garnishes.
Refrigerate unused portions once soup has cooled. It tastes even better reheated the next day.
Brie, Fig, and Apple Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 red onion sliced
4 slices sourdough bread
2 tbsp soft butter for brushing the bread
4 tbsp fig butter or jam
5 ounces brie cheese thinly sliced
1 large Granny Smith apple thinly sliced
1/2 cup baby arugula
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the onion slices and cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Butter the outside of each slice of bread. Spread fig butter or jam on the inside of each slice of bread. Layer the brie, apple slices, caramelized onions, and arugula. Top with the other slice of bread.
Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle pan over medium-high heat. Place the sandwiches, butter side down in the hot pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned and cheese melts. Cut sandwiches in half, if desired. Serve immediately.
