I seem to go through food phases where I become obsessed with a certain food. My current obsession? Red Bell Peppers. So, it was to my delight to find a recipe for a Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup on Pinterest! It was got even better when I clicked thru to see that the recipe was from a food blog I read regularly, Five and Spice, who adapted the recipe from  Oui Chef. (I of course altered it a bit more!)

This soup is phenomenal! Much like tomato soup, you can taste the sweetness of red pepper with a tad of spice. Topped with feta cheese and a little parsley, then paired with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, it makes for the perfect meal.

While roasting the vegetables, the house was filled with an amazing earthy smell. And even though it’s called Red Bell Pepper Soup, I used a mixture of red, orange and yellow peppers. I wouldn’t use green bell peppers though. They just aren’t sweet and are too bitter for this recipe. I’ve read that peeling bell peppers is a pain, but I had no trouble. Maybe it was because I coated them thoroughly with olive oil? At any rate after they cooled for a few minutes, the skins easily slipped off.

More painful for me was the blending. I was excited to use the immersion blender my Mom gave me a few years ago (which I had never used). Unfortunately, I struck out. After about 10 minutes of trying, it was still too chunky. Throwing it in the blender gave me the rich, velvety texture I was looking for.

The original recipe called for chicken or vegetable sock. I subbed my favorite, Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base. Super tasty it’s easy for those times when you don’t have stock on hand. I also find it salty enough that I never have to add salt in the recipe.

When you are tired of plain old tomato soup, I encourage you to give this a try! Continue reading →