Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato soup

2 red bell peppers, broiled whole, in the oven until blackened (turn to get both sides). After they're roasted, place in a bowl with a lid, and let them steam for about 10 minutes, so the skin will be easy to peel off. Remove the stem, seeds, and skin (optional...I like the flavor the burned skin gives to the soup). Rough chop it.
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
a handful of sweet basil, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 teaspoons paprika
4 large tomatoes (I used green, red & orange heirlooms), chunked.
5 cups veggie broth
Salt & pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil +2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

On med-high heat in a large pot, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sautee the onion, carrot, and celery for a few minutes, then add the garlic, herbs & spices. Add the tomatoes & red bell pepper and veggie broth. Let this all simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the veggies are soft. Let it cool a bit and transfer it to a blender or food processor (will have to puree it in batches), or puree it in the pot with a stick blender. I strained the soup at this point, but it's not necessary (I like it extra smooth)! In a separate pan, heat up the additional olive oil on med-high heat, then add the flour to make a roux. Cook it for about 5 minutes or until it smells nutty and is light brown (keep stirring it). Add about 2 ladles of the pureed soup to the roux, whisking out the lumps, then quickly add it all back to the tomato soup. Whisk out any lumps and bring to a simmer. The soup should be finished at this point, but if you like it creamy, add 1/2 cup heavy cream just before serving. Garnish with fresh basil.

For the grilled cheese, I used slices of sourdough bread, swiss, provolone, muenster and sharp cheddar cheeses.