Name: Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil; 1 onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; ¼ teaspoon (1.5 mL) red chilli flakes (more if you like it hot); 1 28-ounce (796 ml) can tomatoes; 1 ½ cups (375 mL) roughly chopped roasted red peppers (about 4 large) *; 2 cups (500 mL) chicken or vegetable stock; ¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh basil; salt & pepper to taste; Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt; Fresh basil; 

Description

This easy-to-make soup is versatile. It can be made vegetarian with a simple switch of stocked, served either hot or chilled, and can be puréed to be velvety smooth or slightly chunky.

Scale

Ingredients

Soup
1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ teaspoon (1.5 mL) red chilli flakes (more if you like it hot)
1 28-ounce (796 ml) can tomatoes
1 ½ cups (375 mL) roughly chopped roasted red peppers (about 4 large) *
2 cups (500 mL) chicken or vegetable stock
¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh basil
salt & pepper to taste

Optional Garnish
Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Fresh basil

Instructions

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and sauté onions until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and chili flakes, and sauté another 2 minutes.

Break the tomatoes apart with your hands and it to the onions, along with the juice and the roasted red peppers. Simmer 10 minutes. Add the stock and basil, heating to a simmer. Taste, adjusting salt and pepper as needed.

Purée the soup directly in the pot using an immersion blender or in batches in a stand blender. The blender will produce a smoother soup. Serve immediately with preferred garnish.

For cold soup, cool to room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The soup will stay cold longer if served in chilled bowls.

Notes

If you don’t have roasted red peppers on hand, you can make your own (see below) or just add a 14 oz (398 ml) tin of tomatoes to the mix and call it Tomato Soup.

Roasted Red Peppers: Jarred roasted peppers save a lot of time. Just drain and use. However, you can roast peppers easily yourself. Place whole peppers on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast them under the broiler, turning every 5 minutes, until the skin is charred all over. Remove from oven and place a bowl over the peppers for 10 to 15 minutes to steam the skins. Using a paring knife, peel off the charred outer skin, slice open the pepper and removed the seeds. If possible, roast a full pan of peppers and freeze the leftovers for later.