This soup is a lovely variation on the French pepper soup. It is magical with the silky smooth texture on the palate. The soup is a lovely flavour bomb. The base is loaded with sweet roasted yellow peppers complemented by a light herbed stock. The magic is in the homemade stock. You can use a commercial stock, but the intensity of the pepper flavours will not be evident in the soup. This is the perfect light soup for early fall and a coursed dinner.
This is a wonderful cookbook that specializes in soups for all seasons. Deborah Madison is one of the first chefs to start the farm-to-table movement in the Bay Area and her recipes reflect her expertise with vegetables and fresh produce. I have a number of her wonderful cookbooks, each one a masterpiece. This book made me fall in love with soups and taught me how to make a great one.
For more wonderful soup recipes from this cookbook, click here.
Ingredients:
5 yellow peppers
For the stock:
1 tablespoon oil
Yellow pepper skin stems and seeds
1 small onion, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small carrot
1 tomato, diced
A few basil leaves, or 1 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups water
For the soup:
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 teaspoon sherry or other wine vinegar
Salt, to taste
Cream. to garnish
Heat the oven on broil.
Broil the peppers in the oven for 30-45 minutes turning them every 3-4 minutes till the are lightly charred all over and the skin has bubbled and is loose. Cool. Peel the peppers removing the flesh. Keep the stems, skins, seeds and any juices.
Heat the oil in a pot and add the onions. Fry on low till the onions are soft and translucent. Do not let the onions colour. Add the rest of the ingredients for the stock, except the water. Sauté for 2-3 minutes till the vegetables are soft.
Add the salt and water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes on gentle. Cool, and strain through a fine mesh sieve collecting the stock. Discard the solids.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Add the onions and cook on low heat till soft and translucent. Add to the stock with the vinegar and salt. Puree in a blender or with a hand blender until smooth and silken. Taste for salt and tartness from the vinegar and adjust as needed.
Serve hot with sourdough bread.