Roast Pepper Soup

Well the temperature in Oxford has taken a nose dive. This has made me long for some comforting food. I've been making this roast pepper soup for over 10 years now. I suspect it has deviated somewhat from the original recipe and I've included suggestions for variations at the foot of the recipe. The soup is bright and cheerful in winter and light and fresh enough for summer too. Good for eating informally or at the start of a dinner party. I'm a bit vague on the quantities on this one as the amount of liquid added depends on how thick you like the texture of the soup. I also think that chicken stock is nicer in this recipe than vegetable stock but you may want to keep it completely veggie.

Roast Pepper Soup

Ingredients:
4 Red peppers, de-seeded and sliced in half.
1 Yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced in half.
1 Onion, chopped.
1 Clove garlic, chopped finely.
1 pt Chicken or Vegetable stock (possibly more if you like the soup thinner, make final adjustments at the end of cooking).
1 tbsp Plain flour
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Method:
1. Turn your grill on to high. While it's warming up, line a grill pan with foil. Place the pepper halves, skin side up, into the grill pan, press them down to flatten them out a bit. You may have to do the grilling in two batches. Don't crowd the peppers because if you do they won't roast properly and you'll have a hell of a time peeling them later (plus they won't develop the sweet, smokey taste that makes this soup delicious).

2. Roast the peppers under the grill until the skins are black and blistered. Once roasted, scoop them out of the grill pan and put them into a smallish bowl (a 2 pt pudding basin is the perfect size) or a plastic box which has a lid. Cover the bowl with a plate or saucer (or put the lid on the box). Leave to cool for 30 minutes. The steam released by the peppers at this point helps to finish the process of loosening the skins.

3. Now the messy bit! Peel the skin from the peppers and discard. The skin should come off quite easily. If you haven't roasted the peppers enough this can be difficult though! Don't worry about getting every tiniest scrap of skin off, but do try and remove all of the blackened pieces. Once all the peppers are skinned, roughly chop them. Don't worry if the flesh underneath is a little brown or blackened. That's how it should be!

4. Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil up in a large pan over a moderate to low heat. Add the chopped onions and saute gently for a few minutes. Don't allow them to brown. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Finally, sprinkle over the flour and stir continuously. After another minute add the peppers. Gradually add the stock.

5. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Now reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

7. Using a food processor, blender or hand-held blender, process the soup until it's smooth and without any lumps of pepper or onion left. Check the texture of the soup. If it's too thick for you, add more stock.

8. Re-warm the soup but don't allow it to boil again. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. This soup looks lovely served in wide, shallow bowls garnished with a little swirl of yogurt and thin strips of yellow pepper. It goes well served with Italian breads like Ciabatta or Focaccia.

Serves 2-3 as a main and 4 as a starter.

Variations:
Chili and lime - Substitute one or two finely chopped fresh red chilies for the garlic. When the stock is added, add the grated zest of a lime, the juice of half a lime and a pinch of sugar. Add more lime juice when you do the final seasoning if wished.

Smoked paprika - Try adding some sweet or hot smoked paprika. Do this just before adding the peppers and allow the spice to cook for a few seconds.