While it may not officially be winter just yet, the weather is certainly getting colder and we’re all looking for recipes to keep us warm for the next few months. Lucky for you, the recipe we have for you this week may just be what you’re looking for, we have for you a grilled cheese with a bacon jam to go along with a homemade tomato basil soup! This two-recipe-in-one combo is a fun twist on a classic pairing and is well worth the time because it is absolutely delicious!
You may already be familiar with the classic pairing of grilled cheese and tomato soup, and if you’re already a fan then there’s a lot to love in this recipe but if you aren’t then maybe this will convince you. Let’s start with the homemade tomato basil soup. This is a recipe that you can start and go back and forth between as you wait or finish and let simmer while you make the jam and grilled cheese later. Otherwise, it’s a simple enough recipe, homemade soup often is but simple doesn’t mean it’s lacking in flavor and this soup is a cut above other tomato soup recipes. The secret is the lightly seasoned and oven roasted tomatoes and garlic that you can begin cooking right at the start. Once those are done it’s the usual matter of combining all of your fresh ingredients to a pot and letting all of those flavors combine into one tasty bowl of soup, and the fresh basil leaves in this soup make it incredibly fresh and flavorful. A healthy amount of heavy cream when it’s all blended smooth will also add a creamy richness that makes this all the more satisfying.
The second half of this recipe is the bacon jam to go on the grilled cheese. This step takes some time to cook but it’s a simple process and the final product makes a classic grilled cheese so much better. It’s a simple matter of cooking thinly sliced yellow onions in a pan over low heat for one hour, stirring every 10 minutes until they are cooked down and brown. Then deglazing the pan with balsamic vinegar and brown sugar makes the onions a little sweet, very flavorful, and goes great when blended together with crispy halal beef bacon to form your jam. This jam added to your favorite style of grilled cheese takes a classic and makes it that much better, we used a combination of shredded cheddar and gouda, which by itself makes a very tasty grilled cheese, but with the added bacon jam and dipped in homemade tomato basil soup really surprised us and had us coming back for more and more. These are seriously good together and are such a great twist on the classic combo, everything is rich, flavorful, and nice and hot to keep you warm this winter.
But that’s all for this week, a one-two punch for your taste buds that are so good together you might just be upset that you hadn’t tried them sooner. But don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself and let us know what you think or what you did differently, we always love to hear any tips or tricks that help us all enjoy better cooking! As always, we were so excited to share this recipe with you, we hope you share it with someone else, and we’ll see you next time.
