Roasted Bell Pepper Soup

Roasted Bell Pepper Soup

Although we did not get hit with the polar vortex in southern California, I decided a few weeks ago that it was cold enough to qualify as "soup weather".  Our "cold spell" didn't last very long, so I had a very small window of opportunity for winter boots, scarves, comforting soups and hot beverages.
I made a small batch, enough for dinner and lunch the next day.  Unfortunately, I did not secure the lid of the container well and most of my lunchtime soup spilled all over my lunch bag.  That was my great tragedy of the day.  At least I got to enjoy half of it.
If you are not too picky about the color, any color bell pepper can be used.  Red, of course looks better, but I think green, yellow or orange also taste great.  I bought 2 green bell peppers and one of them turned red by the time I decided to use them for this recipe.  My soup came out a delicious golden yellow.

Roast Bell Pepper Soup
2 large bell peppers
1 small tomato
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 small onion, diced
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup half & half
salt & white pepper to taste

Broil the whole bell peppers and tomato on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes.  Let cool and rub the skins off.  Remove and discard the stems and seeds.
Sautee the onion and butter in a large soup pot until translucent.  Add broth, bell peppers and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.
If you have a handheld blender, pulse the soup at the lowest speed setting until smooth.  Make sure that the pot has sides that are high enough so that the soup doesn't spill over.  Hot soup spilling all over you is not good.
If you are using a regular blender, make sure to let the soup cool to room temperature before blending.  Otherwise, the heat will cause the contents of the blender to expand during blending and hot soup may explode out of your blender.
Reheat soup to barely a simmer, stirring frequently.  Add half & half.  Stir until warmed through.  Remove from heat and add salt and white pepper to taste.  Enjoy!