Difficulty: easy

Prep time: 5 minutes

Active cooking time: ~30 minutes

Intro to soup:

Soup really needs no introduction but there is a basic formula that most vegetable soups follow.

The cooking formula is sauté + simmer + blend

You want to lightly sauté your vegetables to develop some flavor and start their cooking. The sauté step is what makes a difference between true flavor and just boiled and blended vegetables. The simmer step is about adding a flavor base. In most soups, this is some form of stock that will add depth to the soup compared to just using water. Simmering is also simply about cooking. By the time you blend you want to ensure that everything is soft enough that the vegetables will actually blend. And of course, the final step is blending. In this recipe, everything is blended until smooth but you can experiment with only blending some parts of your soup to add more texture.

Follow these three steps and you’re on the way to great soup.

Ingredients: (2-2.5 quarts or ~6 servings)

Soup:

• 2 16 oz jars roasted red peppers

• 1 medium to large white onion

• 2-2.5 pounds carrots (equivalent to 6-8 large whole carrots or 16-20oz of shopped or shredded carrot)

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 quart chicken or beef stock

• (Optional) red chili flake

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Toppings (optional)

• A few sprigs of fresh herbs (preferably basil or chives)

• Sour cream or crème fraiche (1 tablespoon per serving)

Preparation:

Step 1: Peel and chop the onion, garlic, and carrots (these can be roughly chopped as everything is getting blended later)

Step 2: Drain the red peppers and gently rinse

Step 3: Saute onions and carrots in a dutch oven or large pot for 5-7 minutes or until onion is softened

Step 4: Add garlic and red chili flake and saute for 1-2 more minutes

Step 5: Add red peppers

Step 6: Add enough stock to just barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes (additional cooking time may be needed if using chopping instead of shredded carrot). After 10 minutes test a carrot for doneness, and continue simmering until a fork can easily pierce the carrot

Step 7: Blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and if salt is needed, add salt and blend again

Step 8: Add lemon juice and stir to combine

Serving: Serve hot with desired toppings