RED PEPPER ( or capsicum) SOUP

This is an intensely flavoured and heavily fragrant soup that can be served warm or chilled.

In some recipes the peppers (also called capsicums) are charred or grilled and then cooked in the soup.

There are many variations to this soup, some use butter or cream to thicken and enrich the soup. Different herbs like tarragon, basil, coriander, or fresh oregano can replace the thyme and I have seen recipes that include an additional vegetable, for example a bulb of fennel, leek or a couple of red tomatoes, but whatever the recipe you are aiming for a very concentrated, soup with Mediterranean flavours – you could almost choose one of the countries and vary the ingredients to suit (for example if I were to choose Italian tastes, I would use olive oil in preference to butter, perhaps reduce the amount of onion, replace it with a few cloves of garlic and select basil or oregano as my herbs, for a Middle Eastern flavours, coriander and perhaps include a speck of harissa etc).

My friend made this very simple soup that relies heavily on the flavours of the peppers. We are staying with her on the Gold Coast in Queensland and red peppers are very much in season here; in some other parts of Australia and the world, red peppers are sweetest at the end of Summer and well into Autumn.

Our soup was accompanied with slices of toasted, crusty bread spread with a paste made of feta, olive oil, a little lemon juice and thinly sliced spring onion. I liked this more than adding a dollop of cream or yogurt at the point of serving. Goats curd (chevre) could also be used instead of the feta.

Yellow peppers, like red peppers are also sweet and could be used in this soup, but for an intense colour use red ones.

INGREDIENTS
large red peppers, 6 cut into small pieces
large onions, 2 chopped
extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup
vegetable or chicken stock, 4 cups
fresh thyme, to taste
salt and black pepper to taste
cloves of garlic, 3 large crushed


PROCESSES
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions  and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the red peppers and garlic, cover and sweat on gentle heat for about 15 minutes - this will enhance the flavours. Add stock, thyme, salt and pepper, cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.
Puree the mixture with a blender/ food processor until smooth.
Add a few chopped herbs for colour – we ran out of thyme and in this instance added a little chopped parsley and coriander – maybe a little bit too much of a melange and fusion of flavours, but it was delicious.







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