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.
Roasted Red Pepper Soup Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
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.
Roasted red peppers after removing the blistered skin. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
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.
I love using an immersion blender to puree soups to perfection. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
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.
Hot or chilled, this soup is a winner! Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
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!
As Digital Editor of New England.com, Aimee writes, manages, and promotes content for NewEngland.com and its social media channels. Before this role, she served as assistant, then associate, editor for Yankee Magazine and YankeeMagazine.com, where she was nominated for a City and Regional Magazine Association award for Best Blog. A lifelong New Englander, Aimee loves history, the New Hampshire seacoast, and a good Massachusetts South Shore bar pizza.
