Tag Archives: bell pepper

Roasted Tricolor Bell Pepper Soup

Usually, soup with a roasted bell pepper base is made with just red peppers, resulting in a lovely, rich red hue.

But when one is met with a multitude of many colored peppers, a palette of a multitude of colors will result.

Count them. 20+ peppers, AFTER I threw away 5 rotten ones.

But they do look so beautiful after burning their skins to a crisp.

(I did two trays.)

Roasted Tricolor Bell Pepper Soup

Adapted from this recipe

20+ bell peppers, cored and halved

2-4 tablespoons olive oil, enough to cook…

4 small onions and

4 cloves (or more) garlic

1 teaspoon + smoked paprika

4 cups vegetable stock

4 cups water

6 small potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Greek yogurt

Cover a pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place peppers, skin side up, on tray and spray. Broil for 15-20 minutes (I’m serious, unless my broiler was faulty) until the skins blacken.

Empty peppers into some kind of sturdy bag that can be sealed. The first tray: the peppers had so much juice, they broke through the paper bag. The second tray: The peppers melted right through a ziploc freezer bag. I don’t know what to do.

Let them sit for 10 minutes, then carefully remove and discard the skins (they’ll be pretty hot) but do not rinse the peppers. Chop coarsely.

Heat olive oil in a large vat/cauldron/nonstick soup pot, and cook onions and garlic until soft but not brown. Add paprika and cook 1 minute.

Add roasted peppers, broth, water, dried herbs, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender or food processor, and add the balsamic vinegar just before finishing.

Serve with dollops of Greek yogurt. You can also stir some into the soup itself in place of cream… or just stir in some cream.

Makes A LOT.

This soup was delicious. The smoked paprika adds another layer of flavor, and I’m happy I finally got to use some in this recipe. And the color is actually pretty nice, even though it’s not red. Some black beans and corn might go nicely in this too, and add some protein to make a hearty meal!

We are now bell-pepper-less and couldn’t be happier. However, there are some cucumbers that are taking over the vegetable drawer that might need to be stopped.

Spinach and Potato Breakfast or Dinner Hash

This is meant to be breakfast.

I made it for dinner.

Two versions. One with sausage (for dad) and one without (for mom and me). Because I’m nice like that.

Dad did all the dishes. He can be nice too.

Spinach and Potato Breakfast or Dinner Hash

Adapted from this recipe

makes 2 large or 4 small servings

1 green bell pepper, diced into medium chunks

1 medium yellow onion, diced into medium chunks

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, halved and then quartered (I cut them smaller so they’d roast faster)

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 ounces sausage, cooked and sliced (I used a mysterious Chinese sausage that as laying around in the fridge)

1 heaping teaspoon fennel seeds

salt and pepper to taste

2 to 4 cups baby spinach leaves

2 to 4 eggs, fried to desired doneness

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.  Put aluminum foil on the baking tray and spray with PAM or olive oil cooking spray. Place diced potatoes on a lined baking sheet and spray with PAM, add a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.  Bake potatoes for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through (fork-pokable). Remove when done and set aside until you’re ready.

While potatoes are baking, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat. (If you have raw sausage, cook them now and then remove from the pan).  Add the diced peppers and onions and cook until browned and broken down, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as it cooks.  Add the minced garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from pan and place in a bowl.

Return the pan you cooked the onions and peppers in to a medium flame.  Add the sliced, cooked sausage  and potatoes.  Pan fry until the sausage and potatoes have crispy bits on them.  Add the fennel seeds.  Stir.   Add the onion and pepper mixture and fold to incorporate.  Remove from the flame and add spinach leaves.  Toss to incorporate and wilt the leaves.

Transfer the hash to a serving dish.  Season with salt and pepper as necessary.  Fry as many eggs and you’d like and serve over hash.

We all really liked this dish. I packed up leftovers and my dad ate them up later in the evening. Score. Even if it meant brainstorming for tomorrow’s lunch.