While gazpacho is the perfect chilled summer soup, and a hearty bowl of beef stew is just the thing for a cold winter night, this slightly-spicy roasted red pepper soup is the perfect bowl for those in-between months. Because it tastes delicious both hot or cold, we think it’s the perfect year-round soup. Having said […]
While gazpacho is the perfect chilled summer soup, and a hearty bowl of beef stew is just the thing for a cold winter night, this slightly-spicy roasted red pepper soup is the perfect bowl for those in-between months. Because it tastes delicious both hot or cold, we think it’s the perfect year-round soup.
Having said that, it is especially nice in the summer or early fall when you can still get your hands on fresh red peppers and tomatoes, and with these late September days feeling more like summer this year, it’s even more ideal. Using fresh peppers and tomatoes adds a few extra steps to the recipe, but the resulting flavor is so good we think you’ll agree it’s worth the effort.
If you’ve never roasted your own red peppers before, this is a great opportunity to start, and it couldn’t be more simple. Fresh peppers are arranged on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzled with olive oil, and after thirty minutes in the oven, they’re softened, blistered, and browned in spots. Once cooled, the skins can easily be peeled off and the seeds scraped free.
Voila! Roasted red peppers, ready for the soup pot.
Tomatoes also get a good peeling in this recipe (see How to Skin a Tomato), along with onion, garlic, tomato juice, hot sauce, and some fresh basil. The whole thing is pureed to a smooth consistency, but if you prefer your soup a little on the chunky side, you can only puree it partway. I love my immersion blender for this step, since it eliminates the need to haul out the blender, and the mess from transferring batch after batch from the pot to the blender and back.
Serve warm or chilled, the bold flavor of the fresh peppers and tomatoes make this a tasty soup that’s perfect for every season. I like to enjoy mine with a grilled cheese on the side.
After all, what soup isn’t improved with a grilled cheese on the side?
Do you have a favorite summer or winter soup? Let us know!
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Home Editor and the Senior Digital Editor of NewEngland.com. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.