I created this soup for my not-yet-published cookbook. It's a healthful puree of ripe, Vitamin C-rich bell peppers, plus zingy garlic, fragrant thyme, and creamy russet potatoes. And Lawd A-Mighty -- it's delicious!
You'll find the soup is scrumptious any time of the year, and at any temperature. Serve it hot in winter, or cold in summer. It makes a fabulous first course for dinner, and a magical main course lunch. If you're like me, you'll eat any leftovers for breakfast.
Here's the step-by-step recipe:
To start, peel and roughly chop 5 fat garlic cloves.
Peel and chop up a large onion, too.
Then obtain 4 red bell peppers, which are nothing more than fully-ripened green bell peppers...
And, while holding each pepper vertically, slice the crimson walls with a sharp knife. When you slice this way, the seeds usually stay attached to their seed-pod, instead of spilling all over the place.
The seed-pod in question. Toss it on the compost pile.
Roughly chop the sliced walls.
Then take 2 russet potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), and peel and roughly chop them. The potatoes will give the soup a creamy consistency. You won't have to add any actual cream.
In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, heat some butter and olive oil -- about 2 tablespoons of each -- over a low flame.
Once the butter melts, add the garlic, onion, peppers, and potatoes, and toss them about with a green spatula.
Then add 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves (triple the amount for fresh leaves)...
And 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper.
Cover the pot, and let the veggies steam quietly until perfectly tender -- about 50 minutes. Cool, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Now add 2 to 3 cups low- (or no-) sodium chicken stock...
And puree the works with a purple immersion blender.
Don't have an immersion blender? Get thee one.
Or, just puree the veggies in batches in a jar blender or food processor.
Bring this orange poetry to the simmer over a medium flame, and then thin it out, if you wish, with more stock. Taste carefully for seasonings -- you might want to add more salt. You could add a splash of brandy, too, although the soup doesn't require it.
To serve, ladle the soup into a pretty bowl...
Then add a dollop of creme fraiche (see my homemade version) and a sprinkling of thyme leaves or fresh, chopped dill.
Although the soup makes a marvelous first course or main course for dinner, it's delicious for breakfast, too. Just serve it in a mug.
Wanna make my day? Post a comment below. As always, I love hearing from you.
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