Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Lightly coat the peppers in oil and grill over med-high heat until quite black. I prefer to use an outdoor grill for this but they can be roasted in the oven or over a gas burner. (See the Red Pepper Eggplant Confit Recipe on Rouxbe for the oven technique) Once the peppers are uniformly blackened, place in a large bowl and cover tightly with foil. Let sit for at least 20 minutes so the peppers continue to steam. Once the peppers are very soft, remove the stem, core, seeds, and all the skin. Cut into large chunks and set aside.

Dice the onion(s) and add it to a large heavy pot with the oil and salt. Stir and cover. Sweat the onions for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Remove the lid and raise the heat and cook, stirring often, until slightly browned, about 2 more minutes. Add the garlic and continue to stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes longer without further browning. If you have any dark bits, remove them from the pot. Raise the heat and add the wine to deglaze the pot. Stir up any fond that may have developed and continue to simmer until almost all the wine has evaporated. Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes by dropping in boiling water for 15 seconds followed by an ice bath. Continue to prepare the tomatoes by removing the seeds and core and chopping into small chunks. Add the tomatoes to the onions and cover. Continue to cook until the tomatoes are very soft, at least 5 minutes.

Add the roasted peppers and tomato/onion mixture to a blender. Puree until smooth and return to the pot. Add some of the stock to the blender to ensure you get as much of the puree out as you can. Add the remaining stock to the pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you want a more intense flavoured soup, simmer uncovered for about 1 hour more, stirring occasionally.

Entirely optional but a nice visual and taste addition is to add a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche to the centre of the bowl along with a few grinds of black pepper. Great with a slice of baguette on the side when served as a starter or with your favourite sandwich for lunch.