November Recipe of the Month

My husband loves tomato soup. His mother used to make it for him with grilled cheese when he was a kid. I never liked tomato soup and a lot of conventional recipes have dairy added to them. I also dislike the amount of sodium found in can soups. So, when we tried P90X, their recipe book contained an amazing recipe similar to tomato soup but much healthier. Its still tasty and, on those days when you have worked out extra hard, it still tastes fabulous with a grilled goat cheese sandwich. ;)

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

• 2 cups white wine 
• 1 medium white onions
• 5 medium red bell peppers, roasted then seeded 
• 2 cups celery, diced 
• 1 clove of garlic 
• 2 ripe plum tomatoes 
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme 
• 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

There are several ways to roast a pepper. A lot of roasted red pepper recipes call for broiling the red peppers. When we moved in, the broiler on our oven did not work and since we have an electric range and no outside grille, I use the panini grill we got as a wedding present. It can be tricky the first time but you basically blacken the peppers on all sides (you will have to watch them and rotate them) and you can tell its working when you see the skin bubbling. Once they are blackened on all sides, throw them into an airtight container and let them steam so the skin is easier to peel. Give them up to 30 minutes to sit and then peel the outside skin off and cut the middle out and de-seed. If you are unable to remove all of the skin, don't worry, you are going to puree everything anyway.
Heat wine in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, red peppers, and celery. Cook and stir for 3 minutes.
Stir in garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes, adding more wine if necessary.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and broth; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
Puree soup in a food processor or blender. If you have a regular size blender you may want to puree the soup in two halves. The first time I did it, I couldn't hold the top on the blender and it shot up all over the kitchen. True story.
Once, pureed, return it to the pan, add seasoning, and heat through.