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Roasted Pepper, Potato & Tomato Soup

Are you a farmers' market fan like me? Do you go every week to find your favorite ingredients to cook up in your best recipes? Well, I do too!!
I have many days when I cannot decide what to make for my next meal until I see the fresh ingredients in person for inspiration. And what better place than my local Farmer's Market for that inspiration? Let's be realistic. Fresh, in-season food is best found at your local farmers' market. Why? Well, because your farmer can only bring you what is fresh, not something from last season. They grow the fruits and vegetables and pick them when in season, then deliver them to you. Just as food was intended to be eaten in season, besides that, it tastes best and costs less, too.
As I was walking around my local farmer's market trying to figure out what I wanted to prepare for my next meal, I saw all of these wonderful peppers! All different varieties, shapes, and colors. They just drew me in like a magnet to steel. So I started to fill my bag with so many different varieties and colors and collected quite a few. I am all about color in my food. Remember, color = nutrients=healthy. These beauties are packed full of antioxidants, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and contain small levels of the health-benefiting alkaloid compound, capsaicin. Early laboratory studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic, and anti-diabetic properties. When used judiciously, it was also found to reduce triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals. Bell peppers also have adequate levels of essential minerals such as iron, copper, zinc, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium. Both bell and poblano peppers are also a good source of fiber. So eat up!
So, as I was meandering through the market, carrying my bag of peppers, I thought about my passion for soup. I grew up eating soup almost every day. Even in the summer. It's a Czech thing. We eat soup and salad with just about every meal. Well, at least in my home, we did. We used fresh, in-season vegetables and made the soups either in a clear broth or a cream broth, but always full of vegetables. Here in the States, my dad had a small, beautiful garden with the best tomatoes ever! So my mom used to make her special tomato soup. (Stay tuned for that recipe) He also planted cucumbers, a large variety of peppers (hot and mild), cabbage, and herbs. Our neighbors planted corn and other veggies, so my dad and the neighbor swapped veggies. It was all delicious. We had a nice variety. Besides, there is nothing better than going to your backyard and picking your own vegetables and fruits. But if you live in a city like mine, your local farmers' market is the next best thing. Anyway, I wanted to spruce up my pepper soup, so I picked up some additional tasty ingredients. I saw some interesting potatoes called Kennebec.
They look like russet potatoes, and when I asked, I was informed they were an all-purpose potato like a russet. Okay, so I purchased a few to give them a try. Then I came across this very fragrant and full of flavor plant, herb-like greenery called "Lovage." It sounded "lovely," so I gave it a shot.
It is like celery on steroids scented. What I came to find out was that this very fragrant plant, Lovage, is also used for assisting with heartburn, indigestion, bloating, gas, gout, joint pain, and migraines. Apparently, it is also used as an expectorant to loosen phlegm in respiratory conditions. So I see here another example of why eating soup when I'm ill is a huge advantage. Besides, when you are all stuffed up, all of these fragrant and healthy vegetables help to open up your nasal passages. And if you are not ill, well, they help maintain your optimal health.
The smell of fresh fruits and vegetables is so intoxicating. Just smell the veggies now! And wait until you start roasting the veggies, your home will smell amazing, like a fresh garden, and therefore your food will also taste amazing. What's great about cooking with such fresh ingredients is that you don't need so many other ingredients to complete your meal. Depending on what you are making, you can probably get away with about 5 ingredients. And you actually control what is going into your meal. Less sodium (because fresh vegetables don't actually require a ton of salt to enhance the flavor of the food), no sugar (yes, you would be surprised that takeout food contains sugar even in savory foods), and no added chemicals that you cannot pronounce but your body does not know what to do with them.
Okay, so with that said, I had all of these beautiful, colorful peppers and only me. So I finally decided to make one of my favorite meals...soup. This is so easy to make and full of flavor that I recommend it. If you have the family size or room in your freezer to make a larger batch, you do it. It's a quick defrost and reheat, and so, so, so delicious that you'll want this all the time.
Okay, so let's get to the preparation. There are various techniques to roast peppers. Over a gas stove flame, (time-consuming), a grill, or in the oven. Since I like no fuss, and do not own a grill, I like to make them in the oven. Besides, this way brings out their smoky flavor.
As with all of my vegetables, I like to wash them well and then dry them with a dish towel. Next, I coat them with some good extra virgin olive oil, place them on a large rimmed tray, and place them in a preheated oven.
Now, for this recipe, I roasted the vegetables in stages. Meaning, I first placed only the olive oil-coated potatoes in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. This is because they take longer to cook. Then I added in the peppers and set the timer for 20 minutes. Once the timer went off, I turned all of the vegetables over, potatoes and peppers, and added in the cut tomatoes and placed them all back into the oven for another 30 minutes.
Once the vegetables were finished in the oven, I removed just the peppers and placed them in a large bowl. Covered them with some plastic wrap and allowed them to cool.
The wrapping will allow the peppers to sweat and to enable easy removal of the charred skin. Once the peppers are cooled, remove the charred skin with a paper towel by rubbing the pepper. Wipe out the bowl and place the cleaned peppers back in it. Season with salt and pepper.
Next, cut up your onion, smash the garlic, cut up the lovage, and tear up the basil, and set aside. Heat some olive oil in a Dutch oven and toss in the onions. Sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add in the garlic and continue cooking for about 1 minute. Add in the bay leaf, broth, lovage, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers, and all of the juices from the roasting, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard the bay leaf. Either using a blender or an immersion blender, blend all of the soup ingredients to a smooth consistency. Ladle into bowls and top off with some torn basil leaves or microgreens. Enjoy!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Czech, Healthy
Servings 6 servings
Calories 211 kcal

Equipment

  • oven
  • Dutch oven
  • Knife
  • Large Rmmed Tray
  • Large bowl
  • plastic wrap
  • Blender or Immersion Bender
  • Soup Bowls
  • Ladle

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound potatoes, russet or Kennebec
  • 2 pounds assortment of bell and poblano peppers
  • 1 pound hearty tomatoes, such as heirloom
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • salt & pepper to season
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped Lovage or 1 stalk celery
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
  • Basil Leaves optional
  • Micro Greens optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
  • Wash and dry all vegetables.
  • Coat the potatoes with extra virgin olive oil and place them on a large rimmed tray in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes, add the peppers to the tray and set the timer for 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, turn the vegetables over and add cut tomatoes. Roast for an additional 30 minutes.
  • Remove the tray from the oven. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to sweat for easy skin removal.
  • Once cooled, remove the charred skin from the peppers using a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
  • Sauté onions in olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
  • Add bay leaf, broth, lovage, roasted potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and their juices. Simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, discard the bay leaf, and blend the soup to a smooth consistency with a blender or immersion blender.
  • Ladle into bowls, and top with torn basil leaves. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 4gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 646mgPotassium: 868mgFiber: 6gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 5719IUVitamin C: 221mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Heirloom Tomatoes, Peppers, Potato, Recipes, Soup
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