Pick a Peck of Peppers (Monday, Nov. 8)

The peppers I picked last week were ripening nicely and ready to be used Monday.  It was a chilly day after the freeze during the night, and making roasted pepper soup seemed the perfect thing to do.  I found a recipe online and set to work.

First I halved and seeded the peppers, then slit the bottom ends so they would lie flat.  I brushed them lightly with olive oil.

Next they went under the broiler, about 2" away, until their skins began to bubble and blacken.  (I think next time I'll let them get even blacker and more bubbly to make peeling them easier.)

After coming out of the oven, they went into a stainless bowl, covered by a lid, for 15 minutes to let the skins soften.  Once they were ready, I peeled the blistered skin off.  Mostly I used my fingers, although sometimes the blade of a knife helped.  This was the most tedious part.

I sauteed a chopped onion in some olive oil, then added the peppers, garlic cloves, and a cubed sweet potato.  I added 2 cups of chicken broth, just enough to cover the veggies, and simmered it all until the sweet potato was tender.

The final step was to puree the soup in the food processor.  When this was done, I returned it to the pot and added the rest of the chicken broth, 2 more cups.  (Having less liquid during the pureeing stage made it much less messy with my food processor.  If I had a blender, it wouldn't matter, but I'm a lazy cook and see no reason to clean up a mess if I don't have to!)

The soup was ready to enjoy for supper that night and lunch the next day--and enjoy it, we did!