Aprovechar

Sometimes in these days of food allergies and intolerances, I desperately want a food that reminiscent of the glutenous, eggy, dairy-ful food that I am missing out on.  Sometimes I’m happy to use recipes that are naturally free of all of those foods.  I’m always on the look-out for healthy foods that taste fantastic; boring healthy food holds no appeal to me, but tasty healthy food is the best.  This meal is a combination of all of those desires.

My friend Becky brought this soup to a summer harvest dinner we had earlier this year.  I paired it with a Chebe pizza crust topped with goat cheese and olives.  The salty, crunchy (verrrrry crunchy) bread was a nice foil to the slightly sweet, smooth soup.

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup

This soup is the embodiment of photosynthesis; it tastes like liquid sunshine.

6 large, sweet yellow (or orange) peppers
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 chopped leeks (white part only)
1/4 c. butter (I used nearly all olive oil instead with only a couple of T of ghee)
3 red potatoes, cubed (and peeled, if you want a uniform yellow color to your soup at the end; or not, if you want more fiber)
5 c. broth–veggie, chicken, or beef
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Halve peppers.  Remove and discard tops and seeds.  Broil peppers 4″ from the heat until the skin blisters, 5-10 minutes.  Immediately place peppers in a bowl; cover and let stand 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute onion and leeks in butter (or oil) until tender.  Add the potatoes, broth, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and let simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Peel and discard skin from peppers.  Chop the peppers; add to the soup mixture.  Cool slightly.

In a blender (or using an immersion blender), cover and process soup in batches until it is all smooth. (If you are using a blender, don’t fill it more than about 2/3 full before turning on the blender.)  Return to the pan and reheat if necessary.

(Six servings, with each serving containing ~227 cal, 9 g fat, 30 g carb, 4 g carb, 8 g protein, or 4 WW Points)