Quick: Roasted Pepper Soup

The quick in the title refers more to nature of this post and less to that of the soup. You will need to roast and peel 1 kg of red bell peppers, which removes this soup form the "quick" list, but once you've done that, everything else is very simple. And it's delicious. It was inspired by a marvelous pepper soup I had a Jackie's in laws a few months back and have been longing to re-create since. The smoked paprika gives it an interesting twist.

Roasted Pepper Soup

1 kg of red bell peppers

2 ripe tomatoes

1 red onion, diced

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

3 carrots, sliced into large pieces

olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

a splash of apple cider vinegar

salt

pepper

Heat the oven to the highest temperature. rub whole, rinsed peppers and tomatoes with a little olive oil, place on a baking sheet and roast until tender- the peppers should have a little burned spots. you might want to turn them over after awhile so they cook evenly. remove from heat, place in a lidded pot and let sit. as the pepper cool they will "sweat" and it will be much easier to peel them. peel and seed tomatoes and peppers, reserving the juice they give off.

in a large pot, heat a generous splash of olive oil. add onions, saute for about a minute, then add potatoes and carrots. cook, stirring occasionally, till the vegetables become tender and slightly golden. add a generous amount of coarse black pepper, and tomatoes, peppers and the liquid you reserved while peeling them. cover with water and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer just till carrots and potatoes are thoroughly cooked. remove from heat, let cool a little, then blend. add smoked paprika, cayenne, salt and vinegar to taste.

can be served hot or warm with a spoonful of yogurt or sour cream, or cold. The first night we ate it warm, but after that I had it for lunch at school, cold- it's too hot during the days for hot soup for me.