We've got lots of red sweet peppers...anyone got a good roasted sweet pepper soup recipe?

[NRaleighLiberal]

We've dehydrated some and ground them to make paprika, and frozen some....but making a nice rich soup from them...mmm!

Anyone have a favorite way to make it?

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Here's one for creamy red pepper soup. Takes an hour or more to make.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
6 cups chicken broth
2 (12-ounce) jars roasted red bell peppers preserved in water, drained
1 russet potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 (3/4-inch thick) baguette slices, cut into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, and thyme and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, bell peppers, potato, wine, and sugar. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Partially cover and simmer until the potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool the soup slightly.

Using an immersion hand blender, puree the soup in the pot until it is smooth. Alternately, working in batches, puree the soup in a regular blender, taking care while blending warm liquids. Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and saute until they are crisp and golden, about 8 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Dollop a tablespoon of mascarpone in the center of each bowl and top with croutons. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. thanks! dinner tonight, I think!

[NJCher]

3. Here are a few from my cookbooks

Red pepper soup recipes are not easy to find. Even my "exclusively soup" cookbooks didn't have a recipe.

This first one is the one I use and it's by Mollie Katzen.

Cream of Red Pepper Soup

Adapted from Still Life with Menu"
Preparation time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 to 5 servings

An indescribable shade of creamy red-orange, this is a beautiful, rich-tasting soup that is quite easy to prepare. You can do steps 1 through 4 up to several days ahead. Then let the soup come to room temperature (or a little warmer) before puréeing it with the milk. Also, be sure the milk is at least as warm as room temperature. Attention to these details will prevent curdling.

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil)
2 cups minced onion
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
5 medium-sized red bell peppers- stemmed, seeded, and sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk (soy okay) - at room temperature or warmer
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Optional, for the top:
Sour cream (thinned by whisking slightly)
Torn cilantro leaves
Melt the butter and/or heat the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and swirl to coat the pan.
Add the onion and garlic, and cumin, cook over low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Add the bell peppers and salt, stir well, cover, and continue to cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Gradually sprinkle in the flour. Cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes or so. Remove from heat.
Purée in a blender, bit by bit, with the milk. Pour the puréed soup back into the soup pot. You may wish to strain the soup to get a smoother texture
Heat very gently (do not boil), then add black pepper to taste. Serve topped with sour cream and/or torn cilantro leaves, if desired.

Can't recall the cookbook on this one:

Roasted Yellow Pepper and Yellow Tomato Soup

Sunshine in a bowl! This will brighten up any dinner table with its warm and striking colour. If you can’t find yellow tomatoes, the recipe will work just as well with red tomatoes.

SERVES 8

450 g/1 lb yellow (bell) peppers
1 kg/2¼ lb yellow tomatoes, blanched, skinned and chopped
175 g/6 oz onions, chopped
1.2 litres/2 pts/5 cups water
10 ml/2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
5 ml/1 tsp anchovy essence (extract)
5 ml/1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
To serve:
To serve:
Garlic croûtons
1 Grill (broil) the peppers all over, turning frequently with tongs, until the skins blister and char to a dark brown colour. Place in a roomy bowl and cover the top closely with clingfilm (plastic wrap).
2 Leave until cold, then rub off the skins under cold running water. Split the peppers and remove the seeds, but save the juices to add to the soup.
3 Place in a large saucepan with all the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.
4 Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Leave to cool to lukewarm.
5 Blend in two or three batches, then transfer to a clean saucepan. Reheat until hot and serve with a topping of the garlic croûtons on each portion.
PREPARATION TIME: 35 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 1¼ HOURS

This one is from the Food 52 cookbook.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Corn and Cilantro

5 large red bell peppers, cut in half, cores, seeds, and ribs removed
4 large heirloom tomatoes, cored and quartered
3½ large shallots, 3 halved, remaining ½ shallot minced
8 large garlic cloves, in their skins
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
2½ cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth, plus more if needed
2 small ears sweet corn, husked and kernels cut from the cob
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
Cilantro Oil
A small bunch of fresh cilantro
Extra virgin olive oil
Sherry vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the oven to 425°F.

2. Toss the peppers, tomatoes, halved shallots, and garlic cloves into a large bowl. Drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place the vegetables in a single layer, skin side up, on a baking sheet with a rim.

3. Roast the vegetables for 45 to 60 minutes, until everything has started to take on a nice charred appearance. Check the shallots and garlic at 45 minutes—if they are soft, remove them from the pan and reserve; if not, leave them in the pan. When the vegetables are done, remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

4. Carefully peel the charred skin from the peppers and tomatoes. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins. Put the tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and halved shallots in a large saucepan, along with the smoked paprika, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

5. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender and return to a clean saucepan. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep the soup warm over low heat.

6. To make the cilantro oil: Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Toss in the cilantro leaves and blanch for about 30 seconds. Drain the cilantro and put it in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again and pat dry. Finely chop the leaves, then toss them in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil (enough to make a spoonable cilantro oil). Add a splash of sherry vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

7. Heat a medium sauté pan over a medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil and the minced shallot and cook until the shallot starts to take on some color, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corn kernels, some salt and pepper, and the thyme and cook for 2 minutes, then toss in the butter; when it has melted, remove the corn from the heat and transfer to a bowl.

8. To serve, arrange a small pile of the corn in the center of each of 6 warmed soup bowls, pour the soup around, drizzle with some cilantro oil, and sprinkle with a little of the crumbled feta.


Cher

edited to add: it's worthwhile to stockpile a few of these recipes. If you've ever purchased red pepper soup (I'm thinking of the Trader Joe's in a box), it's only passable. Not really that great. But red pepper soup can be fantastic, so it's well worth the effort.

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. Thanks so much! I really appreciate the efforts of both you and sinkingfeeling -

sort of thing that makes DU great!

[Rowdyboy]

5. Don't have a recipe but last Saturday we had a cup at a really good Italian restaurant....

We had a tough day, a family wedding in the morning and a friend's brother's funeral in the afternoon. Stopped in for a easy dinner on our way home and had roast red bell pepper soup with our pizzas (shrimp/artichoke and smoked salmon/capers). What a damn day....

Just follow the recipes above and yours will be killer!

[dem in texas]

6. Roasted Red Pepper Soup

We used to eat at a little restaurant in Aledo, Texas that was in an old rock house. You had to wait on the porch to get in, that's how good the food was. The chef made a roasted red pepper soup that had a cream base, it was delicious. We'd eat there when ever we drove out that way. Then we went back one day and there were no people waiting to eat and when we went in, we found out why, the restaurant had changed hands and the chef was gone. The food was awful and we never went back.

I will try the red pepper soup recipe. Thanks for posting it.

[Retrograde]

7. Very simple one

Roast the peppers under the broiler until the skins are charred all over, about 10 minutes per side. Then remove them from the oven, wrap in paper towels (or a kitchen towel you don't mind getting slightly red) and put in a plastic bag for an hour or until you're ready to make the soup. Peel and seed the peppers.

Put them in a pot along with some stock. I use chicken - about 2 parts peppers to one part stock - and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Blend to a puree, then taste: if it's too sweet, I add some balsamic vinegar until it seems right. Put a dollop of sour cream in a bowl, pour the soup over it, garnish with chopped chives or basil if handy, and serve.

You can char a whole mess of peppers up front and use them when you need them.