Roasted Red Pepper Soup

By: Robin Donovan and Juliana Gallin, authors of The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy

Equally delicious served hot or chilled, this bright and rich soup is like late summer in a bowl. While red bell peppers can be had year-round these days, I highly recommend using only fresh, locally grown, ideally organic peppers and corn for this soup, and making it only during the height of the summer produce season. If you live in a hot climate and don’t want to heat up your kitchen in the middle of summer, blacken the peppers on a hot grill instead.

Ingredients:

8 red bell peppers, halved and seeded

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (from about 1 ear of corn)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

8 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2–3 ounces (about ¾ cup) grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼–1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Crème fraîche, sour cream, or plain yogurt for garnish

Thinly sliced chives for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450º Fahrenheit.

Place the halved bell peppers, cut side down, on a baking sheet and roast in preheated oven until the skin begins to blacken and blister, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven, place in a bowl, cover, and let steam for 15 minutes or so until the peppers are cool enough to handle. Peel off skins and discard.

Place the peppers in a large pot along with the diced onion, corn kernels, and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Using an immersion blender (or in batches in a countertop blender or food processor), purée the soup until nearly smooth (it’s best if the soup still has some texture to it). Raise heat, return to a boil.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and cayenne, if using. Just before serving, stir in balsamic vinegar.

Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream, crème fraîche, or yogurt and a sprinkling of chives.

Serves 6.

Robin Donovan and Juliana Gallin are the authors of The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy —a hip, fun, and practical guide to cooking strikingly sophisticated, yet surprisingly simple dishes. With more than 125 delightfully easy recipes, the book proves that anyone—even those short on time, patience, skill, or experience—can cook impressive meals with minimal effort. You can visit the authors’ blog atwww.TwoLazyGourmets.com, like them on Facebook, and follow them onTwitter

Tags: Fall meals, red peppers, Soup, two lazy gourmets