Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Soup

First you will need to roast some ( two or three) red peppers

To do this:
 a. Cut off the tops and bottoms of the peppers, remove the cores and seeds, cut down one side and open up the peppers.  Lay the splayed peppers on a baking sheet and flatten them a bit. 

1. Adjust oven rack to top position. Turn broiler on. With oven door closed, let oven heat for 5 minutes. Oven rack should be 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches from heating element.  Broil peppers, with oven door closed, until spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Reverse pan in oven; roast until skin is charred and puffed but the flesh is still firm, 3 to 5 minutes longer.
2. Remove pan from oven; let peppers sit until cool enough to handle; peel and discard skin from each piece. For those who prefer, peppers can be transferred to a large heat-resistant bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and steamed for 15 minutes before peeling skin.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 zucchini, diced
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers, diced
2 walla walla  onions, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
salt,  to taste
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz of gluten free chicken stock
1 cup water
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped for garnish


Directions:

1. Roast red bell peppers according to instructions above.

2. In a dutch oven, heat half the oil over medium high heat, saute zucchini until golden (8-10 minutes).  Add the diced roasted red bell peppers, stir to combine, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. In the same dutch oven heat the remaining oil, cook the onion, garlic, jalapeno, thyme and pepper and salt until softened (about 5 minutes), Add the beans, the chicken stock and the water, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Let cool.

4. In a blender, puree the soup (stock and beans), in batches until smooth.  Return to pan, stir in the reserved zucchini and roasted red peppers, heat through and serve.  Garnish with parsley.