There is nothing like a warm bowl of soup as the weather chills. This used to be one of my favourite dinner time meals - rich and flavorful with a crust of bread and cheese. It is heart-warming and so satisfying!

I made this quick and simple for you to follow with a seasonal addition - pumpkin! Pumpkin and tomato melody quite nicely with one another, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

You can use roasted tomatoes, diced tomatoes or tomato sauce from a can, it’s up to you and what’s available in your kitchen. The same goes for the pumpkin. Whole fruits and vegetables will, of course, require a few extra steps to prepare.

You can make this in one sitting, but I encourage you to make the soup the day free to get more depth of flavour. I cooked mine and left it overnight, then made the cheese sandwich.

You can add other elements to the sandwich, like pesto to sundried tomatoes like what I did. I would recommend using at least two different types of cheese for some extra dimension, and these can be plant-based.

I also used palm oil instead of butter to add some additional richness to the soup.

If you are familiar with my recipes, you'll know I’m a big advocate for using multiple spices to get the right flavours. Salt and pepper are great, but not enough! This blend will give you a grade-A tomato and pumpkin bisque, don't be intimidated by the amount.

Ingredients

Soup:

1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 can coconut milk

1/4 cup tomato paste

4 tablespoons palm oil or plant-based butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon Royco Usavi (optional)

2 vegetable broth bouillons

2-3 cups water

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1/3 cup mirepoix (onion, carrots and celery)

1 tablespoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dried basil or Italian seasoning

1/4 cup cooking wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon dried parsely

Grilled cheese:

1/2 baguette or several bread slices of choice

Herbed butter

Pesto

Garlic powder, salt and black pepper

Sun-dried tomatoes

Habanero cheese

Pepper Jack cheese

Instructions

In a large pot, add all the spices, salt, pepper and cook in the palm oil/butter and mix for about 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and tomato sauce, cook for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

In the same pot, saute the garlic, mirepoix, parsley, bouillon cubes, and tomato paste, cook for 3 minutes.

Add the pumpkin and tomato back into the pot, with the water, cooking wine, soy sauce, and 1/2 the coconut milk. Reduce heat, simmer for 40 minutes with the lid on. Stir occasionally to prevent the soup sticking to the bottom of the pot.

While the soup cooks, prepare the grilled cheese. Cut two slices for each sandwich, and butter both sides of each piece.

Spray an iron-cast skillet with cooking spray (you can add a little bit of olive oil if you like).

Smear all the slices with the herbed butter.

Slice the cheeses very thinly (careful not to cut yourself!) and lay the pieces on one piece of each sandwich. Place some sundried tomatoes, garlic powder, and pepper on top.

On the other slice of the sandwich, smear with pesto then assemble the sandwiches.

On medium-low heat, place each sandwich in the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until slightly toasted, and the cheese has melted.

Stir in the remaining coconut milk and lemon juice into the cooked soup as the final step. Simmer for another 5 minutes then remove from the stovetop.

Slice the sandwiches in half and serves with your hot soup.