Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Soup

With the city of Boston being pummeled by yet another rain storm soaking the Bay State, the first that came to mind for dinner tonight was soup.  There is something about the melodic sound of rain that makes me crave a bowl of piping hot soup.  Ever on the quest to keep my taste buds entertained by variety and my wallet satisfied by finding use every random thing in my refrigerator, I created this roasted red pepper soup.  To give this soup and extra smooth texture, I pureed the vegetables and then I ran the entire contents of the pot through a fine sieve strainer and was left with a luxuriously smooth consistency. I also used up some day old bread by crisping it up and floating the thick breadcrumbs on top (a concept borrowed from Italian Ribollita soup).  This proved to be a great textural addition to this soup because the bread soaked up the delicious soup but still maintained some crunch in some spots.  And then the inner spice-aholic in me wanted to heat things up a bit so I added some diced and dried spicy chorizo sausage (think pepperoni but bigger and packing some heat).


The real trick here, as with any recipe, is using fresh ingredients and limiting the number of short cuts taken.  I roasted my own red peppers (which is so easy to do and yields such sweet deliciousness its insane).  I also used a small mortar and pestle to grind up the herbs so that I could maximize flavor without compromising consistency.  I also topped the soup with thinly sliced fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese that created a delicate layer of melted cheesy yumminess.  I served this soup with a healthy side of greens topped by a basic balsamic, simply stated, this was the perfect ending to a wet and miserable day.