National Grilled Cheese Day & Red Tomato Soup!

Its National Grilled Cheese Day, and what better to pair with a great grilled cheese than tomato soup? As much as Campbell's reminds me of my childhood, there's nothing like making fresh, homemade soup. It's easy! But this time I changed the recipe a bit. Instead of adding cream at the end, making it a bisque, I had a secret, healthy ingredient that made the color much more dramatic.

The soup is full of veggies, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, fire roasted tomatoes, and I had some celery root to use up, so that went in, too. The last time I made tomato soup, it was a bisque and was a bit pale looking from the cream. Thinking of a healthy heart, I shouldn't have cream very often these days...well, maybe on a special occasion. This time I opted for the visual wow factor, the deep, red color. It came from the secret ingredient: red beets!

I served it with a grilled cheese made with extra sharp Vermont white cheddar, homemade Granny Smith apple chutney and arugula on panini-grilled rustic ciabatta. Absolutely divine! I can't have grilled cheese every day anymore, but when I have it, I want it to be exquisite. Of course, I made the whole thing up, and made it to my taste, but here's what I did.

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1/3 cup celery root, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium red beets, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
handful of fresh thyme, tied together in a bundle
1 large can fire roasted tomatoes with liquid
1 carton low sodium chicken stock
pinch of sugar to taste
Kosher salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup water

Sewat the onions in olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the fresh thyme and chopped, fresh vegetables: carrot, celery, celery root, and beets. Sauté for a few minutes, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, a pinch of sugar, bring to a boil then let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, remove bundled thyme stems, and blend with an immersion blender. If it's too thick, add water, 1/2 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with a dollop of Greek Yogurt and fresh, chopped chives. Serve this soup, and everyone will be impressed and amazed by the color. Enjoy!!