Vampire Blood Tomato Soup with Muenster Sammies
Nothing says Halloween quite like a test tube filled with vamp blood. Amiright? This is a great pre-haunt meal that can be whipped up in 30 minutes or less, and hopefully it will help to fill up the kiddos tummies before they start filling their trick-or-treat bags (and mouths) with candy! Lucky for you, I received permission from Food Network to share this fun recipe with my readers! Enjoy!
Total Time:
1 hr 20 min
Prep:
20 min
Cook:
1 hr
Yield:8 servings
Level:Intermediate
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 fennel bulb, chopped, about 2 1/2 cups
1/2 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
2 cups homemade vegetable broth or low-sodium canned
2 cups tomato juice
6 basil leaves, torn
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Muenster Sammies, recipe follows:
Muenster Sammies with Apple Jelly:
16 (3 1/2-inch square) slices Westphalian Pumpernickel, or other thin black bread
1/2 cup apple jelly
8 slices muenster cheese, about 3 ounces
8 slices yellow cheddar cheese, about 3 ounces
Optional garnishes:
Dill pickle rounds
Fennel fronds
Spanish olives with pimentos
Directions
Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, garlic, salt, fennel seed and crushed pepper, if using, and cook until vegetables soften and brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve juice from the tomatoes, then crush tomatoes gently with your hands. Add the tomatoes, increase heat to high, and cook until they begin to brown slightly, about 5 minutes.
Add the reserved tomato juice, vegetable broth, tomato juice, and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until vegetables are cooked through and soup reduces and thickens, about 30 minutes.
Remove pot from stove and puree the soup in batches, with an immersion, regular blender, or food processor. Stir in lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Serve.
Optional garnishes:
Special equipment: Cookie cutters (pumpkins, ghosts, black cat, bats and witches), optional
Toast bread in toaster or toaster oven until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes (or less if using a toaster.) Spread one side of each slice of bread with apple jelly. Layer the cheese over the apple jelly, top with remaining slice of bread. Cut out as desired. Garnish as desired.
A Few More Frighteningly Fun Halloween Treats
Be sure to catch Halloween Baking Championship on Mondays at 9pm eastern and Halloween Wars on Sundays at 9pm eastern on Food Network for more frighteningly fun Halloween treats for both adults and children to enjoy! In the meantime, here are a few more super fun Halloween treats to whip up with the kids!
- Phyllo Wrapped Hot Dog Mummies
- Orange Scream Pudding Parfaits
- Pull Apart Graveyard Cupcakes
- Maple Cinnamon Spider Web Fritters
- Pecan-Caramel Spiders
- Screaming Spice Cookie
Looking for Halloween Crafts and even more Halloween Treats? Check out my posts from last year, too!
My Favorite Halloween Crafts and Recipes #RoundUp #DIY #Halloween
ButeauFull Chaos’ Final Halloween Fun RoundUp #Recipes #Activites #Crafts
Keeping Your Kids Teeth Clean This Halloween
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