Winter tomato soup with fried cheese sandwiches

I didn't expect this soup to taste half as good as it did because of the use of tinned chopped tomatoes. There was bags of flavour in it, especially with the accompaniment of the fried cheese sandwiches. They were crispy on the outside and melty in the middle. Definitely a winter warmer. The recipe is taken from Olive Magazine. 

Ingredients 

Serves 2
butter
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot , chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée (forgot that)
750ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp creamed horseradish (optional) (I used a tsp of horseradish sauce)
75ml double cream (I just poured a little on top)
4 slices white bloomer (any bread would be fine)
slices cheddar or Gruyère

Method

Melt a knob of butter in a pan and cook the onion, carrot and celery until softened. Add the tomatoes, purée and stock then simmer for 15-20 minutes, till the veg is soft. Blend until smooth, stir in the horseradish and cream and re-heat gently. To make the sandwiches, butter the bread on both sides and put the cheese in between. Fry on each side until the cheese has melted. Cut into soldiers.