Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Smoked Paprika and Cilantro Cream
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 2, 2011
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Cilantro Cream
¾ cup sour cream ¼ cup whole milk 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves 1 tablespoon lime juice Salt and ground black pepperSoup
8 red bell peppers, trimmed, cored, and flattened1 tablespoon olive oil 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)1 medium red onion, chopped medium½ teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon smoked paprika 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth, plus extra as needed1 bay leaf ½ cup half-and-half 2 tablespoons dry sherry 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves Salt and ground black pepperBefore You Begin
The flavor of this soup depends on homemade roasted red peppers; do not substitute jarred red peppers. Be sure to keep your eye on the peppers as they broil in step 2; the broiling time may vary depending on the intensity of your broiler. Sweet paprika can be substituted for the smoked paprika if necessary. To make this dish vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
- Position an oven rack 3 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Following the illustrations below, spread half of the peppers out over a foil-lined baking sheet and broil until the skin is charred and puffed but the flesh is still firm, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through broiling.
- Transfer the broiled peppers to a bowl, cover with aluminum foil, and let steam until the skins peel off easily, 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining peppers. Peel all of the broiled peppers, discard the skins, and chop coarse.
- Cook the oil and garlic together in a large Dutch oven over low heat, stirring constantly, until the garlic is foamy, sticky, and straw-colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the onion, increase the heat to medium, and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin and smoked paprika and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, smoothing out any lumps. Stir in the bay leaf and chopped roasted peppers, bring to a simmer, and cook until the peppers are very tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Working in batches, puree the soup until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the soup to a clean pot.
- Stir in the half-and-half, sherry, and additional broth as needed to adjust the soup’s consistency. Heat the soup gently over low heat until hot (do not boil). Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, drizzling individual portions with the cilantro cream.
for the cilantro cream
for the soup
Yield
Serves 8Ingredients
Cilantro Cream
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and ground black pepper
Soup
8 red bell peppers, trimmed, cored, and flattened
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 medium red onion, chopped medium
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth, plus extra as needed
1 bay leaf
½ cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cilantro Cream
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and ground black pepper
Soup
8 red bell peppers, trimmed, cored, and flattened
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 medium red onion, chopped medium
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth, plus extra as needed
1 bay leaf
½ cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cilantro Cream
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and ground black pepper
Soup
8 red bell peppers, trimmed, cored, and flattened
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 medium red onion, chopped medium
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth, plus extra as needed
1 bay leaf
½ cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For our Red Pepper Soup’s aromatics, we favored red onions over the standard yellow for their intense sweetness and color. Chicken broth’s mild, rich flavor provided much-needed body to our recipe, but still allowed the peppers’ flavor to shine through. The best way to roast the peppers was to cut them and then broil them close to the burner. Covering the peppers and letting them cool made the charred skin easier to peel off. Finally, we thickened our soup with flour and stirred in a bit of half-and-half and sherry.
Before You Begin
The flavor of this soup depends on homemade roasted red peppers; do not substitute jarred red peppers. Be sure to keep your eye on the peppers as they broil in step 2; the broiling time may vary depending on the intensity of your broiler. Sweet paprika can be substituted for the smoked paprika if necessary. To make this dish vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
- Position an oven rack 3 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Following the illustrations below, spread half of the peppers out over a foil-lined baking sheet and broil until the skin is charred and puffed but the flesh is still firm, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through broiling.
- Transfer the broiled peppers to a bowl, cover with aluminum foil, and let steam until the skins peel off easily, 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining peppers. Peel all of the broiled peppers, discard the skins, and chop coarse.
- Cook the oil and garlic together in a large Dutch oven over low heat, stirring constantly, until the garlic is foamy, sticky, and straw-colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the onion, increase the heat to medium, and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin and smoked paprika and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, smoothing out any lumps. Stir in the bay leaf and chopped roasted peppers, bring to a simmer, and cook until the peppers are very tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Working in batches, puree the soup until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the soup to a clean pot.
- Stir in the half-and-half, sherry, and additional broth as needed to adjust the soup’s consistency. Heat the soup gently over low heat until hot (do not boil). Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, drizzling individual portions with the cilantro cream.
for the cilantro cream
for the soup
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Key Equipment
Keep Exploring
My Rating
This is a members' feature.
0 Comments