Bell Pepper Soup with Roasted Red Peppers and Tomatoes

Name: Bell Pepper Soup with Roasted Red Peppers and Tomatoes
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Bulgarian cuisine
Ingredients: Red bell pepper 3-4; Ripe tomato 1-2; Olive oil 1 tbsp; Onion 1; Carrot 1; Potato 2; Parsley 1-2 sprigs; Garlic 1 clove; Salt, ground black pepper, hot pepper, wine vinegar to taste

Vegetable soups without meat are a widespread category of first courses all over the world. Interestingly, even meat lovers usually don't pay much attention to the missing meat. Usually, unless a vegetable soup is made from whatever mix of vegetables happens to be in the fridge, such soups are named after the main vegetable: bell pepper soup, cabbage soup, onion soup and so on.

In Balkan cuisines, soup with peppers, hot or sweet, is nothing unusual. Quite often even the familiar fish soup gets roasted sweet pepper, which makes it incredibly aromatic and tasty. By the way, a soup is generally thought to be more than half liquid, that is, broth. But vegetable soups are worth making a little thicker, with more vegetables, so that the dish is more filling. Then again, a vegetable broth with large pieces of vegetables is also very good.

I read somewhere that the cooking liquid in first courses was not always eaten. In the past it only served to cook the ingredients and was poured away. So there is no end to what you can say about the thickness of soups. Also, not all vegetables can stand long boiling, and they simply turn into a purée, which is used to make a certain category of thick soups and cream soups. Ordinary zucchini or pumpkin make an excellent thick soup. Try the zucchini soup, I recommend it.

A simple bell pepper soup is easy to make. The only thing is not to overcook the pepper, which instantly loses its shape and dissolves into the broth. There is really nothing complicated about it; what matters is the order and timing of adding each ingredient. Unlike clear soups, bell pepper soup is fairly thick, thanks to the amount of vegetables and the potato, which should start to break down and thicken the soup.

Homemade bell pepper soup can be made almost all year round, using fresh or frozen red bell pepper. Depending on the season and your taste, you can add other vegetables, roots and herbs to the soup.

Homemade bell pepper soup is best made with red pepper that has been roasted beforehand, which gives the dish a flawless flavor and aroma. Do not fry the vegetables for the soup in oil that is too fragrant, especially sunflower oil. Fresh bell pepper is the main vegetable of the soup, so it must be ripe and fresh, with no signs of spoilage. And if you like spicy food, nobody forbids adding a little fresh hot pepper, even just a tiny bit.

More with bell peppers

Bean Soup without PotatoesHearty bean soup without potatoes: white beans simmered with fried pork belly, onion, carrot and bell pepper. Step-by-step recipe with photos.

Turkish Kisir (Kısır) Salad with Bulgur and Fresh VegetablesKisir, the Turkish bulgur salad with tomato paste, bell peppers, cucumbers and parsley. Steam the bulgur, mix with the dressing and serve on lettuce.

Kyopolou: Bulgarian Green Caviar from Eggplants, Peppers and TomatoesKyopolou, Bulgarian green caviar: baked eggplants and peppers simmered with tomatoes, garlic and savory. A refined chilled appetizer for bread or meze.

Lecho with EggplantEasy lecho with eggplant, sweet peppers, onion and tomatoes. A Bulgarian-style eggplant stew for serving with bread or rice, or for canning. Step-by-step recipe.

Pan-Fried Vegetables: Carrots, Peppers and Young EggplantPan-fried vegetables in one skillet: carrots, parsnip, bell and hot peppers, celery and young eggplant, fried in stages for a quick side dish for meat or fish.

Ingredients

2 servings

Red bell pepper 3-4
Ripe tomato 1-2
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Onion 1
Carrot 1
Potato 2
Parsley 1-2 sprigs
Garlic 1 clove
Salt, ground black pepper, hot pepper, wine vinegar to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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For the bell pepper soup to turn out rich and tasty, all the vegetables must be perfectly fresh and unspoiled. The cooking can be roughly divided into three parts: boiling the vegetable broth, preparing the sautéed onion and tomato base, and preparing the roasted red pepper. Then comes a short boil all together.
We will make the soup from ripe red bell peppers, which need to be roasted. It is best to roast them over an open flame or coals, and then the soup will be incredibly aromatic. You also get a good result if you roast the peppers under an electric grill or in a Bulgarian pepper roaster, a chushkopek.
Roast the peppers until the outer skin lifts away. If you roast the pepper until the surface is black and then let it cool in a closed container, it will cook perfectly and peel easily. The burnt skin comes off with ease. Remove the seeds and cut the peppers into large slices or strips, as for bell pepper salad.
Pour 5-6 cups of water into a pot and bring to a boil. Peel the potato and carrot. Cut the carrot into large pieces, lengthwise into four or into thick sticks. The carrot should not overcook; it should only add a noticeable sweetness to the broth. Cut the potato into small cubes. The potato's job is to thicken the soup a little as it breaks down. Add the vegetables to the water as it comes to a boil, together with a crushed garlic clove and a pinch of salt. Cook the vegetables over low heat until the potato cubes begin to break down and blend into the broth.
Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips. Fry the onion until it turns lightly browned with a pleasant golden color. Do not overfry the onion, or the bell pepper soup will have an off taste.
Use ripe tomatoes, red or yellow, as you like. Peel the tomatoes, and carefully remove the seeds and white inner parts. Finely chop the tomato flesh with a knife. Add the chopped tomato to the fried onion, add salt and 3-4 spoonfuls of the broth in which the carrot and potato are cooking.
Stew the onion and tomato covered over low heat, so that the liquid barely bubbles and the vegetables stew. Stew the onion with the tomatoes for 10-12 mins in total, then take the pan off the heat.
By this time the soup broth is ready, the carrot is soft and the potato pieces have begun to break down. Add all the onion fried with tomato and the sliced roasted pepper to the broth. Stir very carefully so the vegetable pieces stay whole. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to the minimum. The pepper soup should barely simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bell pepper soup should be just faintly sour. If the tomatoes did not give enough acidity, add a few drops of wine vinegar. Cook the soup uncovered for 6-7 mins. Then take the pot off the heat and let the soup stand for 5-10 mins.
Ladle the finished soup into bowls, dividing the vegetables evenly, and then pour the vegetable broth over them. Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle it over the soup in the bowls. If you like, sprinkle the soup with a pinch of dried hot pepper pod, coarsely ground together with the seeds. A little heat only improves the taste and aroma.
Serve the bell pepper soup hot, with fresh bread and a few fresh herbs.