Flame-Charred Red Pepper Soup with Roasted All-Red Potatoes and Carrots

Dean, the “Pepper Man,” has a great selection of hot and sweet peppers at the local farmers market this fall. This summer, farmers in our town had a difficult time due to the weather, as the pepper and tomato season was late and long.
I love stopping by his booth and talking to him about different flavors and how peppers heat up food. And while I'm not brave enough to try chili, I did try it and it's very spicy and delicious (the best part), but not spicy enough to kill my taste buds.

This soup is made with sweet long red Italian peppers and slightly spicy red long Nomex peppers, the name escapes me and I will have to wait until Saturday to order the "Pepper Guy". (I know: there's not enough research.)

It doesn't matter. Either way, find your favorite pepper and use it. Please peel them first, otherwise you will have annoying hard pepper skins floating in the soup. However, some smooth, burnt hides are fine; This shows how much time you spend on keeping your employees happy.

Potatoes ( known as red or red cranberries ) and carrots complement the flavors and give the soup thickness and consistency; Perfect for this season.






It requires advanced setup, but everything can be done quickly and in one go. Bake garlic cloves with a little olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt in a skillet with potatoes and carrots while peppers roast over high heat. Once everything is done, the rest is very easy. Please use the whole head of garlic. Roasting reduces the flavor of this soup to a rich, sweet and nutty richness which enhances it greatly.

Hot red pepper soup with potatoes and roasted red carrots

Christina's original recipe
(Print recipe here)
ingredients:
5 long (8-inch) Italian red peppers, washed, peeled and seeded
1 long red pepper, slightly hot (not too hot), charred, skin and seeds removed
1 roasted garlic (at least 10 cloves)
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 medium red potatoes (also called cranberries) or other low-starch potatoes such as Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium
A little olive oil for the garlic and the frying pan.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional; I like cooking with wine alone)

to prepare:
Peel the potatoes and carrots and place them in a small baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove the foil during the last 10 minutes of roasting to allow the vegetables to brown lightly. Remove from the oven, remove the pan using a flat spatula, and set aside.

At the same time, we remove the outer peel from the head of garlic and cut the roots, not the cloves. Place the head of garlic in a small ovenproof casserole dish with a lid, add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt. Place the lid next to the pot of potatoes and carrots in the oven and roast until the beans are very tender; This may take a little longer than vegetables. Take it out of the oven, remove the lid, and leave it to cool until it is easy to handle with your fingers. Remove the skin from the already juicy garlic cloves and set aside.

While it's all roasting, place the peppers directly over a gas burner over high heat. It will immediately begin to blister, loosening the skin so it can be removed. Using tongs, roll the peppers like a pestle until the entire surface is nice, blistered, and charred. Don't let them be completely black, it's too red. The photo on the left, although not an Italian sweet pepper, is a good example. Once ready, place them in a large paper bag, fold over the top of the bag and leave for about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, place 4 cups of chicken stock in a large bowl. Add the bay leaves and garlic cloves and allow the broth to boil gently. (If you want to make the soup vegetarian or vegan, you can replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth or water. (See Chef's Notes.)
Remove the peppers from the paper bags, and cut the skin off each pepper with a sharp knife. It's a messy job and will cover your fingers in the crust of roasted chili peppers. You can rinse your fingers and knife under cold water, but do not place the pepper under running water, as this will lose its delicious flavour. Show him this little chili pepper, it's a good thing; Their presence gives character, one way or another.
Peeled, remove the peppers from the stems by slicing them hard (lengthwise) and removing all seeds and stem ends.
Cut the peppers into approximately 1-inch square pieces and place them in the broth.
Now add the potatoes and carrots to the broth, pour in a little white wine if you like, check the seasoning and add kosher salt and black pepper if you like.
Add the soup and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Be polite; Do not let the soup boil.
Check and readjust the seasoning, turn off the heat, and let the soup cool for about 15 minutes.
In an immersion blender or using a food processor, blend the soup until no chunks remain and the texture is fairly smooth. If the soup is too thick, this is a good time to add broth.
Heat the soup to serving temperature in a double boiler over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
If you're as lucky as Mr. Ceci and I, Simona's Flaxseed Baguette is a great accompaniment to this delicious warm soup.

Thank you!

Chef's Notes:
When using vegetable stock or stock, be careful not to overdo the amount of chili pepper in the soup. Some vegetable broths use a lot of green peppers and celery, so what you're trying to achieve will be forever changed. And what we're trying to achieve here is a fresh, flavorful red pepper soup, right?

Well - you don't have to look closely to see that there's a sprig of thyme in the photo of the soup above, but the post mentions thyme. This is because there is no thyme in this recipe. The thyme sprig was on my kitchen counter because I was cooking two separate meals on the same day; One of them, of course, uses thyme. What can I say, I was confused.

What is a simple drizzle of olive oil? For me, covering the bottom of the pan is barely enough to hold the food. I would say it's about 1/2 teaspoon. But I never measure it, so I can't be sure.

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cox. All rights reserved

Share :