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Roasted Red Pepper Soup

A creamy soup made from roasted red bell peppers, leeks, garlic, tomato paste, potato, and vegetable broth, finished with basil cream.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Timeabout 15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Roast the peppers

  1. Place peppers directly on grate over gas burner.

  2. Turn heat to high, cook until sides blistered and charred, turning until peppers are black.

  3. Place charred peppers in paper bag.

  4. Seal bag, let sit 15 to 20 minutes.

  5. When peppers are cool enough to handle, remove charred skin with a paring knife if necessary.

  6. Alternatively, cut peppers in half, remove stems, seeds and white membranes.

  7. Place cut-side down on greased baking sheet.

  8. Broil until evenly charred.

  9. Remove from broiler, proceed as above.

Make the soup

  1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.

  2. Add leeks and 1/2 tsp. salt.

  3. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 8 minutes.

  4. Add garlic, pepper flakes and tomato paste.

  5. Cook, stirring often, 3 minutes.

  6. Add roasted peppers, potato cubes and broth.

  7. Cover, bring to a boil.

  8. Reduce heat.

  9. Simmer, partially covered, until potato cubes are tender, about 15 minutes.

  10. Transfer soup to blender or food processor.

  11. Process until smooth.

  12. Return soup to pot.

Season and serve

  1. Add another 1/2 tsp. salt.

  2. Add a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper.

  3. Add vinegar.

  4. Taste, add more salt if desired.

  5. Serve hot with a dollop of Basil Cream swirled into soup.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

444Calories
9 gProtein
20 gFat
61 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Garlic + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,517 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Leek + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together150 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Red bell peppers
Charring and peeling them builds smoky, sweet flavor that forms the soup's base.
Olive oil
Carries fat-soluble flavors and softens the leeks without browning them.
Leeks
Cooked slowly until soft, they add mild onion sweetness and body.
Tomato paste
Cooking it briefly deepens savoriness and adds color to the soup.
Boiling potato
Breaks down during simmering and blended smooth, it thickens the soup and adds body.
Red wine vinegar
A small amount adds acidity that brightens the sweet pepper flavor.

The step that matters

Charring the peppers until fully black. Blistering the skin until it is evenly charred loosens it for easy removal and develops smoky, roasted flavor. Underdone skin is hard to peel and leaves a raw, grassy taste.

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, olive, clove, garlic, tomato, potato, red wine):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Leekthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, olive, clove, garlic, tomato, potato, red wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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