Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (2)

This soup is slightly different from the recipe I posted in 2010, also titled Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup. This version doesn't have cinnamon or chickpeas - I added paprika instead. Use homemade broth, or store-bought ones with no salt so you can add the salt to taste. Sometimes the store-bought ones have too much. 

Tomatoes and roasted peppers from a jar may also be used in place of fresh, but I don't have measurements for those. I'm sure 1 cup (diced) of each would work fine.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (2)

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 large red bell peppers
• 4 large ripe tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon butter or oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 box no salt chicken broth (about 4 cups)
• 1 cup half & half cream
• Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Directions

1. Place the peppers and tomatoes on a hot grill, or in a preheated 425F oven (on foil). Grill or bake for as long as it takes the tomatoes and peppers to get charred and soft. The tomatoes will take much less time. Check on them after 10 minutes. You don’t want them to fall apart or lose all the juice.
2. Transfer the grilled veggies to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to let them steam a bit. The skin should peel right off. Remove the core from the tomatoes and the stems/seeds from the peppers as well.
3. Roughly chop the tomatoes and 3 of the peppers. I did this in a large bowl so I didn't lose any of the juices. Set them aside. You don’t need to get fancy here as you’re going to puree the soup later.
4. Chop the other pepper into smaller pieces; we’ll add these to the soup after the rest has been pureed.
5. Heat a pot over medium high heat and cook the onions in butter until they start to turn golden. Stir them regularly.
6. Now stir in the salt, pepper and paprika and cook for a minute more. Stir in the tomatoes and roughly chopped peppers, followed by the broth. Simmer this for about 10 minutes. You can add some of the basil if you want, but save most of it for the end.
7. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth. You can also use a blender for this and then transfer it back to the pot.
8. Stir in the cream and the rest of the peppers and basil. Bring it back up to a simmer. Serve hot.