In a bid to drink less and to eat healthier for a period of time, preparing for some sort of running gig, to which I am not sure I am dedicated yet without being boring I began making simpler but flavourful  dishes.

The first one here is the pepper soup.

One of the first cookbooks I ever owned is something called Soup Bible. I received it while just right now was doing a serious diet. The book is not super exciting in terms of strange gourmet stuff  but gives you a trick or two that elevates your ability to make food that is different that what you eat elsewhere. It also contains loads of inspirational recipes.

So if you ever want to make soups, I recommend the book. It is like teaching you perfect draftsmanship, inventing Cubism is up to you 🙂

Ingredients

• 1 x green pepper
• 1 x red pepper
• 1 x orange or yellow pepper
• 1/2 fennel
• 2 x medium sized fleshy tomatoes, use vine tomatoes if out of season.
• 500 ml of vegetable stock
• 1 medium sized white onion finely chopped.
• A few drops of lemon
• 3 tablespoon of yogurt or light creme fraiche
• salt and pepper

How To Make It

• Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds and membrane.
• Cook the fennel in boiling water for 5-7 minimizes until it is soft but still has a bite (overcook it and the flavor is reduced).
• Preheat the oven on 150 degrees.
• Place pepper and fennel in an oven dish and put it in the oven until the exposed side of peppers are blistered. (takes 20 to 30 minutes). I would not recommend higher temperatures as I wand the pepper loose some of the liquid and become flavourful.
•  in the meantime use the hot water from boiling the fennel and put the tomatoes in them for a few minutes until the skin comes off easily.
• skin the pepper.
• Chop the skinned peppers and fennel.
• Fry the onions in as little oil that frying is still doable over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until soft and before the colour changes.
• Add in the rest of the vegetables and fry together for 5 more minutes.
• Cover the pot and reduce the temperature for 10-15 minutes and let the vegetables soften in their own juices. This will as an extra nice rounded flavour to any blended soup you make whether it is pepper or potato soup.
• Add the vegetable stock and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Add a few drops of lemon
• Add salt and pepper
• blend the sour using a food processor (I use a hand-held blender).
• Mix in the yogurt or creme fraiche.
• Let the soup rest for an hour or two for the taste to settle.
• It can be served hot or chilled.
• Enjoy your meal.