by Ethan Johnson
July 21, 2007

There is nothing rational about the following recipe. For those of you who have tuned in late, "summer" in Texas is our "winter", minus the desire/ability to cook comfort food or enjoy a crackling fire. Not that we necessarily get to do those things during actual winter, but hey. So what on Earth possessed me to make soup during 90F+ heat? And a "hot" soup, at that? You, the readers, that's who. It's been a long while since I've gotten experimental in the kitchen, and rather than wait around for the weather to cooperate, I took one for the team and cooked up some:

Red Pepper Soup

Recipe adapted from the Smitten Kitchen blog, who in turn lifted it from a 2005 edition of the New York Times. It's the gift that keeps on giving, apparently.

2 Tablespoons pure olive oil
2 cups sliced onions
3 large cloves garlic, crushed/minced
1/4 cup dry white wine (avoid "cooking wine" if possible)
7 large red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
Up to 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (less is more)
Fresh cracked pepper
Kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Heavy cream for garnish
Thyme sprigs for garnish

(Serves 2-4.)

1. We begin by rinsing off the red bell peppers. Produce has been flaky these days around here, so use care in selecting, well, everything.

   

2. Slice the peppers, then cut into 1-inch pieces, removing the white ribs. Transfer bell pepper pieces into a medium bowl and set aside.

   

   

3. Select enough white onions to yield 2 cups of sliced onions. It took 3 small-ish onions for this example.

   

4. Cut the onions in half, then cut them lengthwise into thin slices. Transfer the slices to a small bowl or paper plate and set aside.

   

5. Set a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil.

   

6. After the oil heats up, add the onions and stir to coat.

   

7. Cook onions until soft and they begin to take on color. (About 5 minutes.)

   

8. Add the garlic. If using a garlic press, press the garlic directly into the pot. Cook for 1 minute.

   

9. Stir pot contents throughly, then add the wine. I didn't bother formally measuring it out; a couple of tips of the bottle should do the trick. The pot contents will steam up as the wine does its deglazing routine. Cook the wine down to about 1 Tablespoon.

   

   

10. While the wine is cookign down, measure out the stock and chop up the thyme.

    

    

11. Once the wine cooks down, add the red bell peppers to the pot.

    

    

12. Add the stock, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

    

    

13. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, or until peppers are tender.

    

14. Uncover the pot and stir contents thoroughly.

    

    

15. Turn off the burner, and transfer the pot contents to a blender or food processor.

    

16. Pulse/blend the ingredients until smooth. Transfer ingredients back to pot.

    

    

17. If eating immediately, add heavy cream as desired and stir, then serve, garnishing with sprigs of thyme.

18. If freezing (like I did), omit the heavy cream.

    

19. Thaw soup, warm up in pot, and add heavy cream as desired. Whisk throughly before serving.

    

    Note #1: The metal whisk is for show. Ideally, use a plastic whisk (or similar) to avoid metal-on-metal pot damage.

    Note #2: If the "heat" of the soup is overpowering, use heavy cream to tone it down. Serve with crusty bread to help mitigate the heat as well.

20. Success!

Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out. <EM>

(The full, ever-expanding In the Kitchen recipe list may be found here, if you take a notion.)