Spring Soups II

In prepping for my stock post I made an abundance of stock, which means more spring soup!

Roasted Tomato and Red Bell Pepper Soup

2 lbs tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
1 onion
6 garlic cloves
1 t fresh thyme
3 C stock
2 T fresh basil
salt and pepper

This is can be served warm or cold and with a little cheese or cream. Many recipes called for ricotta cheese, but I think feta would be betta. Meghan tried this as it was still hot before cooling and noted it tastes a lot like enchilada sauce, which I would never have thought of, but can't argue. I liked this without the heaviness of cream, but like I said a little feta when serving would have been perfect. You could swap cilantro for the basil for a different twist as well.

Preheat the oven to broil and blacken the tomatoes and bell peppers until their skins black and burst. One recipe I found online stated to set it to 450 and include the garlic, but I've found that to be too hot for roasting garlic.

These turned out well, but I was reminded the hard way that they are much easier to peel when hot. The longer they sit the harder they are to peel, but if you use a spoon to help scrape off the skins it isn't much of a chore.

One of the motivations for the recipe was cheap produce at Morse Market and extra basil in the fridge. The basil got a little shocked in the back of the fridge, but it still tasted good. Once you peel the roasted vegetables throw them in a pot with the stock and simmer for 15-30 minutes. Add the basil at the end and transfer to the blender to puree.
 

This soup was delicious, but not hearty enough to be proportioned up for a meal. Served cold it would make a great gazpacho type first course (technically a gazpacho uses uncooked tomatoes) on a warm spring or summer day.

Next up is a soup that blew me away in flavor. It reminded me of my Grandma's cooking, which is always a good thing.

Mint Pea Soup

1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 lb green peas
6 C vegetable stock
1 T fresh mint
2 C yogurt
salt and pepper

This was the most improvised and my favorite of the two. I used second stock (stock that is made from vegetables that already went through a round of stock making), but they included fennel scraps, which added a flavor that was central to the depth in this soup. I reduced this stock by half to help amp up the flavor and it worked well. The hint of dill from the fennel combined with the sweetness of the peas and caramelized onions rounded out this soup perfectly.

Begin by caramelizing the onions in some olive oil and season. I added a little stock to help deglaze the pot after about 15 minutes, but then this extra sugar and me not stirring often enough resulted in a little extra caramelization. I remembered reading in the French Laundry cookbook that if this happens simply transfer the ingredients to another pot/pan and you should be alright. I tried this and it worked perfectly and no burn taste transfered over.