Roasted Red Pepper and Potato Soup

     This week my brother, Landon, came home for Turkey Day from Boise State University and just for him, Seattle decided to turn into a bit of a winter wonderland. While icy roads always make me feel like I have a bit of cabin fever coming on, it was sort of nice to be snowed-in with my family and get to spend time with them while forced to take a break from work, school and random business. Adam came over in his big Jeep and took Landon and I to the Do-It store - if you live in Maple Valley you know that this is the local hardware store- to pick up some craft supplies and some towing gear for Adam's Jeep (so he can pull stuck cars out of the snow). Adam also took us to the grocery store so that we could find something delicious to make, and pick up some movies. 

     After a chilly but very fun day of playing in the snow with my dad, Landon, Adam and, of course, Kona, I thought that roasted red pepper and potato soup with some toasted sour dough bread on the side sounded like just the meal to warm our bones. I hadn't made this before on my own but Carol, my best friend Jenni's mom, used to always make this for us on snow days and I always crave it when the weather turns icy. Not only was this soup delish, but it was not at all hard to make. 

Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large red bell peppers
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic (fresh garlic adds the best flavor if you have it).
• 1 quart chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
• 1/4 cup cream or milk (I used Fat Free milk and about 1/2 cup instead).
• 3 Tbsp butter
• Cayenne, salt and pepper to taste (I also added Cumin and it made a world of difference).

METHOD

1 Roast the red bell peppers by placing them over or under an open flame until they blacken on all sides. (You can use a grill, cooktop gas burner, or oven broiler.) Place the blackened peppers in a bag, close the bag and let the peppers steam for 10-15 minutes, or until the skins feel like they can easily be slipped off. Remove the peppers from the bag, peel off the blackened skins, remove the seeds. Chop the peppers roughly. (I actually do not put them in a bag. If you just put the peppers in a baking dish and fill it with about an inch of water and then stick them in an oven with the broiler on high and rotate them as they char on each side, you will be able to easily slip the skin off with a fork once each side is done).

2 Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and cook another 1-2 minutes, then add the garlic and roasted peppers. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes.

3 Add the stock, stir well and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are soft.

4 Purée the soup in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Fill the blender about halfway with the soup. Start the blender on low and keep your hand on the top, in case the lid wants to pop off from the rising steam. Once everything is well chopped, turn the blender to its highest setting and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. You might need to do this in batches (I couldn't find our food processor but used our blender and it worked wonderfully. Do this in about 2 batches if you do it in a blender because if the blender is all the way full  the soup can not fluff or thicken as it acquires air).

5 Return to a clean pot set over low heat. Add the cream (I just added Fat Free milk... and actually used about 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup), stir well and taste. Add some cayenne, salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

And Voila!!! YUMMM!

Enjoy! If you would like left overs for the week just double the recipe! :)