Spoon & Shutter

Soup supper: Paprika and Red Pepper Soup with cheese toasts and salad. (photo by Susan)

From Susan: My teenage son has come a long way from the days when his favorite dinner foods could be counted on one hand and contained noodles, cheese or both. Sure, he still likes grown-up kid food like Buffalo chicken pizza (see his recipe here), but he’s become a good bit more adventurous and is willing to try anything. After a summer of working in the kitchen at a local country club, he admitted he liked thinly sliced tongue, which I can’t even stomach, although he joined me in promptly spitting out his first taste of duck liver pate.

When the mood strikes him, he likes to cook, and especially surprised me last night by choosing a recipe from a copy of Eating Well magazine I had brought home from work. He was drawn to it because he likes spicy foods, but while the soup has a nice kick, it is not overwhelming. We rounded out the meal with cheese toasts (cheddar melted on top of whole grain bread) and a green salad.

Paprika and Red Pepper Soup

Serves 4

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 small onion, diced

2 large red peppers, halved lengthwise, stemmed, seeded and diced

1-2 fresh green Thai or Serrano chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped (He used some of the last hot peppers from our garden – I can’t remember what variety they were – this is where you can adjust the heat by using milder chiles or omitting the seeds.)

2 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika (This is key; if you use regular paprika the soup will not have the same flavor.)

1 tsp. kosher or sea salt

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 cup unsalted shelled pistachios

2 cups vegetable broth or water

1 cup nonfat buttermilk

2 tbsp. whipping cream

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro or basil

Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers and chilies. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables release some of their juices and the onion is lightly brown around the edges, 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables with the paprika, salt and cardamom and cook, stirring, until the spices are very fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Add pistachios and broth or water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are fork tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Transfer the soup to a blender (in batches if necessary) and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pan.

Whisk buttermilk and cream together in a bowl; stir into the soup. Gently warm over low heat. Serve sprinkled with cilantro or basil.

Recipe from Eating Well, December 2010