My sister recently discovered a store near her boyfriend’s house that had bell peppers – big, beautiful peppers – on sale for a ridiculously low price. She gave me a handful of them last week, and I roasted them for topping sandwiches and adding to salads.
“If I go to that store again, I’ll pick you up some more,” she said.
She called this past weekend to say she was swinging by with some more peppers. I was excited. Whose life wouldn’t be just a little bit nicer with a few bell peppers around?
But instead of a few, I got two-and-a-half dozen huge bell peppers — all a particularly bright and cheerful shade of yellow, except for a handful of green interlopers.
What was I going to do with all these bell peppers?
A quick online search told me that I could freeze them, but the thought of eating frozen bell peppers as opposed to fresh ones didn’t excite me. I came across recipes for slaw-like salads, stuffed peppers and goulashes.
Been there, done that.
Then I came across a recipe for bell pepper soup.
Soup? Bell pepper soup?
I was intrigued.
I used the recipe as a loose guide, tailoring it to fit my taste and the abundance of peppers on my counter.
The result was an amazingly wonderful, enticingly aromatic and spicy soup that even my kid, who won’t touch vegetables, ate with appropriate gusto. Bell pepper soup is now part of my veggie arsenal.
It’s easy, pretty and satisfying. It’s also filling, nutritious and healthy. Need I say more?
Bell pepper soup
Ingredients:
Olive oil to cover the bottom of your soup pot
14 roughly chopped bell peppers (any color recommended but green)
1 huge sweet onion, chopped
1 Yukon gold potato, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
Generous pinch red pepper flakes
32 oz. organic chicken broth
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot.
Add veggies, salt and pepper flakes, cover, cook over low heat for an hour or until the veggies are tender. Remove from heat.
Using an immersion blender, puree the veggies.
Add the chicken broth and heat through.
Serve plain or with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Enjoy!
