Summertime in Arizona brings bushels and bushels of peppers. The Borderlands food bank was in the ‘hood the other day: $10 buys 60 pounds of fresh produce. Among the mountains of eggplant and cukes and tomatoes and squash was a big box of these tiny red, orange, and yellow sweet peppers.

 

They’re not at all hot — they taste exactly like ripe bell peppers.

Obviously, when someone unloads 60 pounds of produce on you, produce that grocery stores are unloading for free because they consider it on the high side of ripe, you’ve got a problem. To wit: what to do with it?

It occurred to me that these little peppers would make a nice soup. And indeed they do!

Because they’re so little, peeling them (as advised in recipes for bell pepper soup) is counterproductive. So I decided to take a chance and just lop off their stem ends, leaving their colorful skins in place. Happily enough, it worked: once cooked, the entire pepper purées nicely in a blender, leaving no flecks of pepper hide. So, here we have…

 

Cream of Pepper Soup

You need:

• Four or five ripe (i.e., not green) red bell peppers) or about four cups of small sweet peppers
• about 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• olive oil
• water to cover
• small amount of sherry or white wine (optional)
• about 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream (more or less to taste)
• small amount of sugar (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

If you’re using bell peppers:

Preheat the oven broiler or a backyard grill. Place the peppers on a cookie sheet and run them under the broiler or atop the hot grill until they start to scorch (this happens quickly, so don’t wander away). Turn once or twice to roast the peppers on all sides. Remove the peppers from the oven and place them in a paper bag or wrap them in paper towels. Let them cool until you can handle them, and then peel off and discard the skins. Slice the peppers open, remove and discard the seeds and seed membranes, and coarsely cut up the peppers’ meat.

If you have tiny sweet peppers:

With a small paring knife, lop the green cap off each pepper. This is something to do in front of the television set the night before you choose to make the soup. 😉

Pour a small amount of olive oil into a skillet or soup kettle, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Over medium to medium-high heat, sauté the chopped onion until it is transparent and just starting to brown slightly. Add the garlic toward the end of this process, so that it will soften without browning.

For small sweet peppers: add the peppers to the olive oil and onions and cook gently until they soften and their skins start to brown slightly. Don’t allow them to blacken.

For peeled bell peppers: add the peppers to the olive oil and onions; cook gently to combine flavors.

Add enough water to cover. If you have any sherry or white wine sitting around, add a splash of that, if you feel so inclined. Simmer for ten or twenty minutes, or until the peppers are softened.

Turn off the heat and allow the pan’s content to cool a little (for safety’s sake).

Then, using a blender or food processor, purée the cooked vegetables with their water. Add a small amount of heavy cream during the blending. For that skilletful of peppers, I used about 1/3 to 1/2 cup cream.

If you’re dieting, you could substitute low-fat yogurt or even coconut milk (experiment with a small amount of the purée to see if you like this).

Taste the result. If you detect a slight bitter flavor, add a small amount of sugar (or honey, or maple syrup, or whatever). A little goes a long way to mellow the overall flavor of the soup.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with chopped little green onions. A few pecans go nicely with this beautifully colorful soup.

Good hot or cold!

 Want some other recipes for tasty, easy to make soups? Pick up a copy of 30 Pounds/4 Months, the guide to healthy dining for people who love to eat. You can get it in a handsome paperback direct from Plain & Simple Press, or order the Kindle version from Amazon.