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Jen's Roasted Pepper Soup

August is the beginning of Roasted Pepper Soup season. I learned to make this in Oly, where there is a stand at the Farmers' Market that begins to overflow with delicious peppers for this wonderful recipe from the Pacific Northwest (thank you, Jen Bator). I used to watch for that stand... hopefully I'll find another like it soon. The first soup is always hotter than I expect it to be & the flavour changes to sweet as the pepper selection changes.

This recipe is really at its best with the Farmers' Market peppers. I have made this soup at other times of the year -- I've even lucked out once or twice with some really good organic peppers from the Big Chain, but they weren't local & I could taste it. The truth is that this soup should be made when your peppers are ready & simply looked forward to for the rest of the year.

ingredients

• about a dozen peppers (more if they're small)
  I like to get a good deal of hot & sweet peppers to balance out the flavour (which is always a surprise). Jalapeños would be okay, but I wouldn't recommend habañeros -- unless you like to live on the edge. I like to balance the colors too & that's a lot easier to predict!
• a big onion (sliced)
  I like Walla Walla Sweets, but get the sweetest ones at the market.
• diced potatoes
  Get enough to balance out the heat/strength of the peppers you've chosen, & to thicken the soup a bit (you could thicken it with roux too if that's your style). I usually use 4 medium potatoes.
• half & half, milk, cream
  Use whatever thickness combo you care for. If I've got a lot of milk & don't feel like walking up to the store for cream, I just use milk, say 3-4 cups. The cream (a good splosh added at the end) does however balance out the heat, which can be worthwhile.

• stock of some sort
  I use about as much as milk. Play with the amounts & you'll figure out how you like it -- more stock: thin soup, more milk or half & half: creamy soup. More potatoes make it thicker too -- & milder.
• butter
• olive oil
• seasonings to taste
  I use a little salt & a lotta pepper -- or nothing at all!
• parmesan or other grated hard cheese
• around 2 hours (45 minutes actual work time)
• Serves 6-8

instructions