Some people think tomato soup only exists to serve as a dipping sauce for grilled cheese, but Kenji and Deb are here to set them straight. A properly, lovingly made tomato soup — even with sad-looking supermarket tomatoes from February — can be a time portal, from the dreariest winter day to the peak of summer farmer’s market fresh. Kenji makes Deb’s genius “grilled cheese kind of built into the tomato soup”, unlocking a new level of tomato soup nirvana.

Recipes mentioned:

• Deb’s Weeknight Tomato Soup (from Smitten Kitchen)
• Deb’s Classic Grilled Cheese + Cream of Tomato Soup (from Smitten Kitchen)
• Deb’s Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Cheddar (from Smitten Kitchen)
• Kenji’s Fast and Easy Pasta with Blistered Cherry Tomato Sauce (from Serious Eats)
• Kenji’s 15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) (from Serious Eats)
• Lisa Steele’s Cream-Fried Eggs (from the Washington Post)