What to do with Red Peppers

Recently, I was looking at all of the vegetables in the refigerator, trying to see what we had and what we needed to eat. I found a more than ample supply of red bell peppers from a recent trip to Costco. So I started to brainstorm ideas on what to do with them. The result turned out to be a delicious soup.

Roasted Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

2 red peppers

1 onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1.5-2 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon ras al hanout spice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/4 cup of half and half

1 cup of cooked lentils (1/2 cup uncooked lentils)

kosher salt & pepper

First, preheat your grill to get it hot for roasting the red peppers. Cut each red pepper into about 5-6 large pieces, removing seeds. Also quarter the onion and leave the pieces together. Toss peppers and onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. Roast the peppers and onions on the grill. The skins of the red peppers should be blackened. Remove the pepper from the grill and set aside. Move onion to the soup pot on the stove.

While peppers cool, you can begin cooking the lentils. In a nonstick saucepan, bring one and a half cups of water to a boil, adding salt. Rinse the lentils and add them to the water. Cover and reduce heat to a very low temperature. You will let these cook very slowly for about half an hour. However, you might want to check them occasionally to make sure the water hasnt't evaproated. Do not overstir or mash the lentils. Test the lentils to see if they are indeed soft and done.

Remove skins from the red peppers. Add peppers to soup pot with the peppers. You do not need to chop the peppers further. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the minced clove of garlic. Saute in pan for about 3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, ras al hanout spice, lemon zest, pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook the soup for about 40 minutes on low heat.

The next step is to puree the soup. Right before blending, add cilantro to the soup. Pour the soup into a blender in batches. Don't forget to remove the plastic cap at the top of the blender to let heat escape when you blend. You might want to put a towel loosely over the opening so that soup doesn't splash out when you blend. After blend, strain the soup through a mech strainer or food meal. Collect all of the liquid and return soup to the stove. Discard the solids. To the soup, add the half and half, 1 cup of cooked lentils, 1 additional tablespoon of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook soup on low for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Hope you enjoy.