Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup

R.R.P.P.!

This is straight-up comfort food of a type I don't tend to gravitate toward. But I can't lie: I had seconds.

Mind you, with a soup this filling, seconds are not the smartest idea. Tonight was yet another night that made me glad I stopped weighing myself years ago.

That said, for a potato soup, this isn't that heavy. It tastes almost like tortilla soup, which for me is a plus. Not something I'd order on a menu, but something I'm very glad to have eaten.

So if I'm so dismissive of this type of (delicious) comfort food, how did I end up making this tonight, you ask? It was all born of laziness. I stayed late at work, and thus didn't want to stop to get bread on the way home. Mama needs her some carbs, and mama [apparently a thing I now refer to myself as] has a veritable cornucopia of potatoes on the kitchen counter. 

 Here's where lazy part two comes in. I knew I had exactly 1.5 red bell peppers in the fridge, and that seemed to be a good starting place. I pulled out my phone on the walk home and typed in "roasted red pepper potato soup," and went no further than the first search result as the basis for this recipe. That's about as lazy as it gets, but you know, sometimes the first thought is the best thought. Go with your gut. Or go with your Google. Or Bing and decide (although I just checked and this was the third recipe on Bing. My night could have been so different! SLIDING DOORS).

 Of course, I made plenty of changes to the recipe, but the thing that makes this soup notable is not my doing. The combo of cumin, coriander and lemon brings an unexpected zippiness. You may think you know what roasted red pepper potato soup tastes like just from reading the title, but you'd be surprised when you took a bite. I mean, I was surprised. And I'm the one who made it.

Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup
Adapted from A Taste of Home
Serves four 

GET THIS STUFF

olive oil
1 1/2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch strips
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 cup diced onion
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced 
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 green onion, sliced

DO THIS WITH IT 

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Put bell pepper strips and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet and toss around with a splash of olive oil. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until peppers are tender with nice black bubbly spots.

Meanwhile, heat another splash of olive oil in your soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook for about five minutes. Add in cumin, coriander and pepper flakes with a pinch of salt and cook for another 2 minutes. Add potatoes and broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.

When peppers are done, remove them from the oven and put them in a paper bag for a few minutes to cool and make the skins easier to remove. Peel garlic and give the roasted cloves a rough chop, then throw them in the soup pot. Peel skins off red pepper strips, then give them a rough chop and throw them in the pot.

When potatoes are tender (probably about 10 minutes), remove half the soup to a blender and add 2/3 cup cheddar. Blend until smooth, then mix it back in with the chunky, brothy soup. This provides a nice assortment of textures. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning, then divide among four bowls. Top with green onion and remaining 1/3 cup cheddar.