Recipe Tue Nov 18 2008

Hot Soup for Cold Days

In other soup news ...

My husband and I wanted something for dinner Sunday night that would take the sting out of those first snowflakes - and we didn't want to run to the store for ingredients. So we whipped up this zesty roasted red pepper and tomato soup in less than 15 minutes, using ingredients straight from our pantry.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 28 oz. can tomatoes in juice (If using seasoned canned tomatoes, adjust additional seasoning to taste)
1 jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained (unmarinated work better in this recipe)
16 oz. vegetable broth
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup heavy cream

In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil with the garlic cloves until fragrant. Using a slotted spoon, remove garlic before it begins to brown. Add tomatoes, peppers and broth to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Stir in Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and sherry vinegar, and remove pot from heat. Blend until smooth, preferably with an immersion blender. (If you use a traditional blender, blend the soup in batches, covering the cap with a towel to prevent hot soup from splashing back at you.) Once the soup is blended, stir in the cream, then taste it. If it needs salt and pepper, you can add it now.

We garnished our bowls of soup with a bit of leftover pasta and a spoonful of pesto. This soup also would taste great with grilled cheese.

— Mandy Burrell Booth / Comments (0)