Roasted Red Pepper Soup

There is a restaurant around the corner from my office that sells Roasted Red Pepper Soup every Wednesday. You know its good when many people in my office come back with the great aroma of that wonderful soup. I’ve had it many times, and every spoonful is better than the last.

I always wondered, I wonder how many calories it is, I wish I could make this so that its healthy and it tastes just like theres. And lucky for me I found it!

I am on Penzeys Spices mail order catalog, and every month to my door is their monthly brochure with tons of hints on spices, as well as reader recipes. As I was browsing throught the magazine, a giant photo of roasted red pepper soup appeared! And along with that the nutritional information. For a 1 cup serving it is only 130 calories, 8 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber. Score! That’s awesome!

This reader recipe was created by Mike Gallacher and submitted to Penzey Spices

Ingredients:

4-6 red bell peppers, cut in half with seeds and stems removed
2 TB. olive oil
1 TB. butter
1 large onion, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1-2 TB. thyme
4 whole bay leaves
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 TB. parsley flakes
salt to taste
1 cup whole milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the red peppers on a non-stick pan, cut side down. Bake in the oven until the skin starts to blacken and blister, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the peppers and place in a bowl and cover with plastic. Let cool for 15 minutes.

In a stock pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the chicken or vegetable stick and all of the spices and salt to taste. Bring to a gentle boil.

Meanwhile, once the peppers have cooled remove as much skin from the peppers as possible. Usually about 50%-75% can be removed, but that’s ok! Add the peppers to the pot. You can use a stick blender, or puree in a blender in small batches, (with the middle part off so the steam can escape, just add a towel over it, so it doesn’t splatter all over). Add the milk and return to a simmer. Cook until heated through.

Now, I can have it any time I want, I don’t have to wait until Wednesday’s to have it!

Also, if you still have last minute gifts for foodies in your life, Penzey’s has a small gift box for only & 7.95!