Carrot and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I love soups.  Mostly one-bowl complete meal kind of soups, but I have ventured out into some lighter soups as well. Thick soups, thin soups, chunky soups, pureed soups – what is there not to like?

I know some people don’t like pureed soups. It reminds them of baby food.

Recently, I was visiting an old friend for dinner, where she made a nice carrot, sweet potato and orange soup which she also fed to her 1-year-old son. Suffice it to say, this kid had no taste! The hooting and screeching was incredible once he tried the soup, which my friend attributed to his aversion to garlic and onion. He was much happier with a macaroni salad, instead.

Not that I remember what baby food tastes like from my childhood, but simple ingredients can lead to a delicious soup. An old recipe of mine from university used 4 ingredients for a decadent butternut squash and roasted red pepper soup. I wonder if Baby T would like that soup (onion but no garlic!). 🙂

Sometimes, though, I want something a bit more edgy, a bit more complex.

Welcome this Carrot and Roasted Red Pepper Soup that I adapted from Color Me Vegan (original recipe also posted here). The name sounds similar to my old stand-by, and with roasted red pepper as a main ingredient, I knew I would like it. I just didn’t know I would love it. Thankfully, while the ingredient list is longer, it is just as easy to make once you’ve got everything assembled. This is an adult soup, though.

I modified the original recipe slightly, choosing to roast my own red peppers (easy and tastes better) while I chopped and cooked the first couple of ingredients. I substituted a large sweet potato for the potato and only used 1 cup of soy milk to get my desired consistency. I also omitted the cayenne, but a dash of red pepper flakes would have been a great addition.

The result was a complex, but still light and creamy soup. The sweetness from the roasted red peppers works well with the carrots, and the pureed sweet potato adds a creamy sweetness as well.  I found the sherry to be a welcome flavour, and a great way to cook the vegetables without any oil. But the secret ingredient was the miso. It really added a depth of flavour that had you begging for more. Baby T may not want it, but if you are older, you will.

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays, to this month’s No Croutons Required featuring roasted vegetables, and to this month’s Simple and in Season for June.

Carrot and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

3 carrots, peeled and chopped (around 400g)
2 onions, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped (around 300g)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry sherry or white wine
1/4 tsp salt
2 large red peppers, roasted and coarsely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
3 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup light miso
1 cup soy milk

1. If roasting your own red peppers, preheat the oven broiler. Line a small roasting pan with aluminum foil. Place the pepper halves in the pan, cut side down, and place in the oven on the shelf closest to the broiler. Broil until the pepper skins are completely black, about 8-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap the pepper in the foil and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and rub off the skins of the peppers. Slice the peppers into 1/2-inch-thick strips and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a soup pot, combine the carrots, onions, potato, garlic, sherry, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the roasted peppers, thyme, and vegetable broth. Cover and simmer until the carrots and potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

4. Use an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender, to blend the soup until smooth. Add the miso and 1 cup of the nondairy milk until it dissolves. Stir together. Add more milk to reach your desired consistency.

Serves 4.