Day 361: Roasted Pepper Soup ◄

Roasting the peppers was painful but -- at least! -- yes, the soup was worth it.

During the other night's first taste test, I worried the whole pot was destined for the disposal. You see, the 'spice' in this soup is chili powder. It seemed an odd choice from the git-go but because this cookbook (Vegetarian Celebrations by Nava Atlas who blogs with the rest of us at In a Vegetarian Kitchen) is so reliably good, chili powder it was.

Straight out of the pot, the chili powder tasted strident, overpowering and mismatched with the pepper. After resting overnight, the soup was ... yes, delicous! And the chili powder had mellowed into the background, letting the sweet pepper flavor come forth and shine.

NEXT TIME ... I'll try the soup with two-buck, two-second Trader Joe's frozen roasted peppers or the equivalent of jarred peppers.

KITCHEN NOTES ...
  • Even on a damp spring day, this was tempting cold, a red-pepper gazpacho, if you will.
  • As garnish, the roasted green/yellow peppers (as suggested by the inspiring recipe) were a waste. They sank straight to the bottom and added nothing taste-wise. Photo-wise, luckily the bowl was shallow ...
  • For garnish, think croutons or a swirl of Greek yogurt or a snippet of chive or slivers of basil or chunks of feta.
FROM THE ARCHIVES ... Like soup? Me too! There're both hot soups and a handful of cold soups in the Recipe Box.

ROASTED PEPPER SOUP
Bookmark or print this recipe only
Hands-on time: With pre-roasted peppers, maybe 10 minutes
Time to table: Maybe 30 minutes
Makes 7 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil (reduced from 2 tablespoons)
1 large red onion, diced (1 1/2 red onions yielded 3 cups which I used)
2 tablespoons minced garlic

6 large red peppers, roasted and skinned (I had 5 but they were extra large)
1 cup water

3 cups water
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon chili powder

Juice of a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1/3 cup fresh minced herbs (I used basil and cilantro)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil until shimmery over MEDIUM HIGH in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and saute until very soft, stirring often, adjusting heat as necessary. (I let them cook and cook and cook while the peppers were roasting so the onion flavor was very sweet and mellow.) Transfer to a food processor. Add the roasted peppers and 1 cup water to the food processor and process until smooth. (For a special occasion, I'd be tempted to use a chinois to achieve real smoothness.) Return to pot. Add the 3 cups water, wine and chili powder and bring just to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and herbs. Season to taste. LET REST OVERNIGHT for FLAVORS TO MELD. Reheat, garnish, serve and enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 97 Cal (22% from Fat, 9% from Protein, 69% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 3 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 18 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; NetCarb14; 32 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 10 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1-1/2 points

ALANNA's TIPS
  • When you see this in the title and the Recipe Box, you know the recipe's a personal favorite. Tastes vary, of course, but the mark is one indication of another vegetable recipe that's worth paying attention to.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
Vegetarian Celebrations by Nava Atlas


(c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade
Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. It looks gorgeous! Yeah--Trader Joe's sounds a better route. :):)

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  2. Hi A,

    I had a great roasted red pepper soup about 15 years ago. Thanks for reminding me of this. I'l love to try (not sure about the chili though!)

    It does look delish.

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  3. what a delicious soup! I needed something to use up my Costco bag of Peppers :) I roasted them the night before and chopped the onions as well...

    I made the soup in the morning and then added the herbs right before dinner...I didn't find the chili powder an issue at all...I also added some red pepper flakes and it was perfect-O !!

    thanks for so many GREAT recipes!!!!

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna