I first experienced the culinary amazement of Gregoire in Berkeley in December of 2009. Gregoire is a tiny restaurant around the corner from Chez Panisse that serves classic french cuisine as takeout. Yes, takeout. It was raining and during finals, and I wanted to be warm and not cook anything. I had filet mignon and tomato chipotle soup, and as a tomato-soup hater, I was reformed. I haven’t ever been able to match their recipe exactly, but with a few additions, this recipe is surprisingly close. I am also not a fan of cream bases for soups, so I liked this recipe found in Cook’s Illustrated.
Creamless Creamy tomato soup:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 pinch hot red pepper flakes
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes in juice
3 large slices good-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth, to make it vegetarian)
2 Tablespoons brandy (optional)
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.
2. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using a potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain.
4. Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard.
5. Transfer half of soup to a blender, add 1tablespoon olive oil and process until soup is smooth and creamy,
2 to 3 minutes (See notes). Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and oil.
6. Rinse out Dutch oven and return soup to pot. Stir in chicken broth and brandy. Return soup to a boil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil. Serve (of course) with grilled cheese sandwiches.
I made a couple changes to the recipe. Since the whole thing was going to be put in the food processor anyway, I used cut tomato instead of the whole tomatoes. I also used whole wheat sandwich bread instead of white bread, and skipped the hot chili flakes and brandy. I decided to make the soup more like what I had at Gregoire, I’d add chipotle pepper and adobo sauce. I don’t like my tomato soup to be too sweet, and I think next time I won’t put it in.
My Dad actually made the grilled cheese sandwiches. There are four things that he can make in the kitchen, and two of them are really good: filet mignon and grilled cheese. So last night I documented him making them.
1. Be sure to use a soft cheese, like cheddar or american cheese. You need to make sure the cheese melts and the bread doesn't burn.
2. You don't have to have a super high quality bread (we used seven grain whole wheat), but make sure you like it.
3. Put the butter on only one side of the bread. Then, melt a pat or two (one pat per sandwich) in a skillet and place the un-buttered side down. Turn on low and cook till the butter on the outside is rather brown. Then flip. If the heat's too high, the bread will burn before the cheese melts [he stressed that a lot].
So, there you have it! What soups do remind you of classic americana?
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