Welsh Rarebit and Roasted Tomato Soup (Grilled Cheese the Welsh Way)
This is the Welsh answer to grilled cheese and tomato soup. The grilled cheese is Welsh rarebit, mature cheddar mixed with warm dark beer, English mustard and Worcestershire sauce, piled onto thick toast and grilled until bubbling and golden, and in my opinion it's the ultimate cheese on toast. The soup is roasted tomatoes, red onions, carrots and garlic blended with hot stock, made with just an oven tray and a blender, so you won't need a saucepan.
Equipment
- Baking / Roasting tray
- Blender (jug, liquidiser)
- Mixing bowl / Bowl
- Box grater
- Chef's knife
- Chopping board
- Digital scales
- Measuring jug
- Measuring spoons
- Shot glass / Measure
- Serving bowl / Dish
- Spatula (silicone, general)
Ingredients
Rarebit
- 125 g mature cheddar cheese also called sharp cheddar, grated
- 35 ml dark beer stout or ale, about 3/4 of a shot glass
- 15 ml Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon
- 10 g unsalted butter about 1 teaspoon
- 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard or 1/2 teaspoon English mustard powder; wholegrain works if you have no English mustard, avoid Dijon and American yellow mustard
- 2 thick slices of bread
Tomato soup
- 1 kg tomatoes 6 to 8 Roma tomatoes
- 2 red onions
- 3 carrots
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 heaped tablespoons of tomato puree
- 500 ml hot vegetable stock about 2 cups, added a little at a time until the soup is as thick as you like
Instructions
Rarebit
- Heat the beer until it's steaming, about 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave or in a small saucepan, then take it off the heat.
- While the beer is still hot, add the butter, English mustard, Worcestershire sauce and grated cheddar and mix until well combined.
- Lightly toast the bread on both sides.
- Spread the rarebit mixture generously onto the toast, corner to corner, and mound it up in the middle. Set to one side.
Tomato soup
- Slice the tomatoes in half, peel and slice the onions into quarters, take the tops off the carrots and peel the garlic.
- Place everything into a roasting tray with some olive oil and salt, give everything a good mix so it's evenly coated in oil, then turn the tomatoes so they are all facing up.
- Roast at 180C (355F) for 20 to 30 minutes until the carrots and onions are soft.
- Spread 2 heaped tablespoons of tomato puree over the vegetables and roast for another 5 minutes.
- Place everything into a blender or liquidiser (you may have to divide it into 2 or 3 batches), starting on slow and building up to high speed, and crack the lid so hot steam can escape.
- Blend until smooth, then add the hot vegetable stock a little at a time (about 500ml in total) until you are happy with the thickness.
- Grill the rarebit under a hot grill (broiler) for about 5 minutes, until bubbling and golden in places.
- Serve the soup straight away in warm bowls with the rarebit.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1portionCalories: 600.4kcalCarbohydrates: 63.5gProtein: 25.1gFat: 29.8gSaturated Fat: 15.2gCholesterol: 72.6mgSodium: 2724.4mgPotassium: 2072.4mgFiber: 12.2gSugar: 28.6g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!