Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup

With the cold weather looming large, I was really in the mood for some pipping hot soup. I thought the gentle sweetness from a roasted red bell pepper would be a great base. I added tofu (don't be scared!) which gave it some added protein and a rich, creamy consistency. This soup has a lot of healthy vegetables: the red bell pepper has a lot of Vitamin C ( great anti-oxidant) and a bit of fiber, the carrots have Vitamin A for vision and bone growth, and the garlic has (surprisingly) calcium, Vitamin C, and some protein. It is also great for your immune system and cardiovascular health. Enjoy!


3-4 large red bell peppers
2 sweet onions
1 head + 2 cloves (or more) garlic
3 carrots
4 stalks of celery
1 container of drained tofu (I used firm)
2 cartons of chicken broth
a handful of Parmigiana Reggiano (parm)
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Garnishes:
Parmigiana Reggiano
croutons
flat leaf parsley
fresh ground pepper

1. Coat the bell peppers, a quartered onion, and a head of garlic (chop off the top) in light olive oil.
2. Place into a 500 degree oven until the onion and garlic are caramelized. Turn the bell peppers.
3. Leave the peppers in the oven until they have a nice partially blackened skin. Remove them from the oven and cover with foil so they will steam.
4. Roughly chop the other onion, celery, carrots, and garlic cloves (my version of mirepoix).
5. In a soup pot or dutch oven, saute the mirepoix with a bit of light olive oil and salt until they are soft.
6. Once the bell peppers steam for about 15 minutes, cut off the stem and remove the seeds. You may also want to remove the skin, which should come off easily.
7. Now add the ingredients to the pot with the mirepoix: red bell peppers, roasted onion, roasted garlic (squeeze out the goo), a handful of grated parm, up to 2 containers of chicken broth, cayenne pepper, a container of tofu. Add fresh ground pepper and salt to taste.
8. Use your immersion blender to make into a smooth consistency. A blender would probably also work, but be careful not to burn yourself!
9. Garnish and serve.