Cream of bell peppers

A yummy soup recipe showing the roux way of making cream soups (the easy lazy way). I'm not a fan of bell peppers (I kind of hate them actually), but the soup is delicious.

Time:

• preparation: 10 minutes
• cooking: 30/40 minutes

Serves:

• 2 cups (about 1 pint or 1/2 litre).

Ingredients:

• bell pepper (your favourite colour, deseeded and chopped): 2 large/2 cups/300 grs
• brown onion (chopped): 1/2 medium/1/2 cup/50 grs
• celery (chopped ): 1 stalk/1/2 cup/60 grs
• olive oil: 2 tbsp/30 ml
• flour: 2 tbsp/20 grs
• vegetable stock: 2 cups/480 ml
• dry mint: 1/2 tsp

Steps:

• Saute the bell peppers, onion, celery and flour in the olive oil on a very low heat, until they start to sweat and the onion browns, between 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to burn the flour.
• Add 2 cups of stock and bring to a boil.
• Let simmer.
• When all vegetables are soft (approximately 20 minutes) blend to desired consistency.
• Add the mint and let simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Some tips: make sure you deseed the peppers properly as they don't blend. It's better to add the stock a little at a time to avoid lumps in the flour. If you happen to have fresh mint on hand, it will taste a million times better than the dry one, just add it before serving; but if you don't, the extra 5 minutes of simmering will release the flavour. For extra punch, add a little bit of chilli pepper and/or garlic. The cremier this soup the better, so blend your heart out.