Name: Cream of Tomato Soup with Souffléed Cheese Toasts
Yield: about 6 cups
Ingredients: 2 1/2 tablespoons butter; 1 small onion, chopped; 1 celery rib, chopped; 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crumbled between your fingers; Pinch of ground cloves; 2 tablespoons flour; Two 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes in puree or juice; Pinch of baking soda; 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water; 1 1/2 cups milk; Sea salt and freshly ground pepper; Tomato paste if needed; 1 egg, separated, or 1 egg white only; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; Pinch of cayenne; 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese; 1 teaspoon minced scallion or shallot; 4 slices sandwich bread, lightly toasted

Image may contain Bowl Plant Food and Meal

Cream of Tomato Soup with Souffléed Cheese ToastsCookbook cover image courtesy of Random House

This quick soup, an American classic, makes a fine pairing with a grilled cheese sandwich or crisp romaine salad. Here the grilled cheese sandwich takes a different form—a souffléed Cheddar topping on a good piece of toasted sandwich bread. Use an organic brand of tomatoes, one that's thick with puree as well as chunks of tomato.

Recipe notes

Caramelized Onion Pasta

Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.

Heavenly Halva Cake

Serve a thick slice for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up.

Vodka Gochujang Pasta

This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.

Our Favorite French Onion Soup

Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.

Kung Pao Cabbage With Tofu

Reliable cabbage is cooked in the punchy sauce and then combined with store-bought baked tofu and roasted cashews for a salad that can also be eaten with rice.

Smothered Italian Sausage

This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.

Golden Mushroom Soup With Orzo & a Pat of Butter

This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little…unexciting. But you’re underestimating the power of mushrooms, which do the heavy lifting.

White Bean Turkey Chili

A dash of cocoa powder adds depth and richness to the broth of this easy turkey chili.