This is my version of the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup. It scratches that nostalgic, comfort-food itch, but it has a little something extra going on. Namely: crab. The seasoned crab mixture brings flavorful crab-cake vibes to the melty grilled cheese dressed up with Gruyere and jack cheese. And since you can't have a grilled cheese without something to dip it in, I finessed my platonic ideal of tomato soup—which is really more of a bisque. A roux-like base and a swirl of cream ensure that the soup has the perfect consistency, and a couple of carrots (my secret ingredient) add the perfect sweetness.

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Ingredients

For the soup:
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp flour
1 32 oz carton chicken stock
two 14 1/2 oz cans diced, fire-roasted tomatoes
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tsp salt

For the grilled cheese (makes 2):
1/3 lb crab meat
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp Old Bay
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
lemon
4 slices sourdough bread
4 oz Gruyere cheese, grated
4 oz Monterrey jack cheese, grated
butter

DIRECTIONS

To make the soup, add the butter to Dutch oven or small stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, carrot and celery until the onions are slightly browned, five to ten minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the tomato paste has turned from bright red to a dark brick color, about a minute.

Sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine. Cook for a just a minute, then slowly whisk in the chicken stock.

Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot and give it all a good mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, then purée the soup until smooth using a stick blender. You can also use a heat-proof blender.

Add in the heavy cream and salt and stir well to combine. Keep warm while you make the grilled cheese.

To make the grilled cheese, start with the crab mixture. Combine crab, dijon, parsley, Old Bay, Worcestershire, and a squeeze of lemon in a small bowl and mix to combine.

Butter two slices of bread on one side, then stack the pieces so the buttered sides are touching. Top with half of the crab mixture, then a mixture of gruyere and jack cheese.

Carefully move the uppermost slice of bread with all its toppings to a pan over medium heat. Top with the remaining slice of buttered bread.

Toast until the bread is well browned, the carefully flip. Gently press the sandwich down and cook until the second side is well browned and the cheese is fully melted. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the second sandwich.

Slice in half—at an angle, duh—and serve with cups of hot tomato bisque for dipping.