Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Corn and Cilantro
Poor tomatoes -- we forgot them!
Merrill begins assembling the quartered tomatoes, peeled shallots and garlic cloves (skins on -- thanks for cutting us a break Oui, Chef!).
Merrill seasons, and Amanda keeps up our clean-as-you-go policy. It's related to our strict eat-as-you-go policy.
Mixing the peppers with the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, oil, salt and pepper.
They come out of the oven looking well-charred and a little beat up from the heat. Don't worry, the payoff comes later.
Peeling the skins from the pepper.
To the roasted vegetables, you add smoked paprika.
Then chicken broth. You want a light chicken broth so the flavor of the vegetables remains prominent.
Blanching the cilantro -- which helps it retain its bright kelly green color.
The ice bath is key. The cilantro emerges like a wet cat. We mopped it off and chopped it next.
Time to puree the soup.
Merrill holds a tea towel on top so the soup doesn't shoot like a geyser onto the ceiling. It's best to do in batches, and make sure you've let it cool enough.
Sherry vinegar zips up the cilantro oil.
The corn gets sauteed with thyme.
Then finished with butter.
Soup complete.
Author Notes: This is a variation on a red pepper / tomato sauce that I've tossed with pasta for years. Our corn is so good right now that I couldn't resist, and thyme and cilantro from the garden rounded out the dish. My first thought was to grate a little ricotta salata over the top, but the feta is a nice stand-in. - Oui, Chef —Oui, Chef
Food52 Review: If you took all of the ingredients in this soup, threw them into a pot and cooked them together, you'd end up with a pretty delicious result. But Oui, Chef takes the soup to a new flavor planet by enhancing each component. He roasts the tomatoes, peppers, shallots and garlic until they're smoky and charred. He toasts the corn in a pan with thyme and wraps it with butter. And he brightens a cilantro oil with splashes of sherry vinegar. By the time you're done and have all the parts assembled beautifully in a bowl, you have a dinner party star and a soup that you'll want to savor the next day for lunch. - A&M —The Editors
Serves: 6
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5
large red peppers, washed, cut in half and de-seeded?
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4
large heirloom tomatoes, washed, cored and quartered?
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8
large garlic cloves, still in their skins?
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3
large shallots, peeled and halved
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2 1/2
cups low sodium chicken stock, plus more if needed
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1/4
teaspoon pimenton (smoked paprika)
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1
small bunch fresh cilantro, well washed and spun dry
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1
splash sherry vinegar
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2
small ears sweet corn, cut from the cob
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2
teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, finely minced
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1/2
shallot, finely minced
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1
tablespoon butter
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1/4
cup crumbled feta cheese
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EVOO
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Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 425?
- Toss the pepper halves, tomato quarters, halved shallots and garlic cloves in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss with your hands to coat. Place them all in a single layer, skin side up in a large roasting pan.
- Place the pan in the oven and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until everything has started to take on a nice charred appearance. Check the shallots and garlic at this point, if they are nice and soft, remove from the pan and reserve, if not, you can keep them in the pan for the final 15 minutes of cooking.
- At the one hour mark, remove the pan, peel the charred skin from the tomatoes and peppers, and squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins. Place the skinned tomatoes, peppers, garlic and shallots in a medium pot with the pimenton and chicken stock, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
- Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender and place in a clean pan, check for seasoning and keep warm.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, toss in the cilantro and blanch for about 30 seconds. Pull from the pot with a slotted spoon and shock in ice water. When cooled, pour through a strainer to catch the cilantro, and pressing with the palm of your hand, wring as much of the water free as you can. Finely chop the herb, then toss into a bowl with enough EVOO to maker a spoonable cilantro oil, add a splash of sherry vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Reserve.
- Preheat a skillet over a medium flame, and when hot add a splash of olive oil and the minced shallot. Cook until the shallot starts to take on some color, then add the corn kernels, some salt and pepper, and the fresh thyme. Cook for 2 minutes, toss in the butter, and when it melts, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl.
- To serve, place a small pile of the corn in the center of a warmed soup bowl, pour the soup around, drizzle with some cilantro oil, and finally, sprinkle with a little crumbled feta.
- Your Best Red Pepper Recipe Contest Winner!
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Vegetable|Soup|Serves a Crowd|Vegetarian|Summer
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Oh my, so delicious!Once I realized that the recipe was not going to feed our dinner crowd I added 2 jars of fire-roasted peppers drained and 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, minus their oil. I would use more pimenton in the soup and also added some to the corn and shallot mixture. The corn relish might be pureed and swirled into the soup, the texture might be better. Just used chopped cilantro, the oil was too fussy. Feta is definitely a must. Did I say that this was delicious??!!
We made this for dinner last night and it was one of those nights where everything seemed to be harder than it needed to be. And yet, this great soup was such a great reward for all the effort! I added extra paprika, a hint of cumin, some sumac and some sherry vinegar direct to the soup to lift it a little. Corn and coriander (cilantro) oil came together beautifully, although next time I might blend the coriander oil sauce to get a better emulsion. The textures and flavours all came together beautifully in the end and we'll definitely make this again!
This was really delicious. A bit time consuming, and I wish one batch would have gone beyond our dinner for 4! But, I'd make it again for sure.
I love the 20-plus photos here. Makes me really, really wish I had a dear friend to make this with. What a lovely way to spend a good part of one's day...(how long DID this take to make you two, Amanda and Merrill?)! I just moved to CA, I know no one; food52 recipes (with rewarding results) are my go-to happy place. I'm printing this one out...and I'm gonna go for this this week...
Robin, here is a video link making this recipe, check it out :)
http://food52.com/recipes...
OOPS, sorry here it is:
https://www.youtube.com...
hope it takes you there :)
Thanks, lapadia! Got the rest of my ingredients today and just watched the video...
This is the most wonderful soup I have had in a long time. Rich, flavoursome and healthy! It was definitely worth the effort. A true celebration of the capsicum season!
So fabulous. I kept thinking I'd like it to have cream while I was making it (probably because many roasted red bell pepper soups I have made in the past did). So glad I held back....the purity of the veggies meets the creamy tang of feta BETTER than adding cream by far....then the crunch of perfect, out of the garden corn....and ahhhh. My husband had two bowls. I will be making it again while corn is ripening (in Maine; late season). I didn't really like the way my cilantro oil turned out and the soup was so stupendous without, I don't think I'll try it again next time. Thank you for such an enjoyable recipe. So fun to put so many veggies together to such a delicious purpose.
This soup is absolutely fantastic! I made it last night and am eating it again for lunch, and boy is it good. The feta, corn and cilantro oil really bring it to a whole other level. The flavor is so unexpectedly delicious. Thank you, thank you!
So glad you like it....thanks for letting me know!
This was my lunch today - thank you, Oui, Chef!
wonderful flavor.....thank you! usually soup take some time to meld and taste "finished." this was instantly intense and tasty!
Thanks for reminding me of this dish, I need to make it again soon!
Thank you for the lovely soup recipe. I have made it several times for informal dinners with friends. Tonight I am making a double batch, and instead of the cilantro oil I will be trying a fresh basil oil instead--my garden is lush with large and beautiful basil plants--I hope it will be just as delicious!
So glad you like it, thanks for letting me know. Now that corn is back in season, I'll be making it again soon.
I'm headed to the produce stand today!!!!!!! Not only does this sound and look incredible but it is loaded with vitamins and potassium .... for us diabetics that's awesome, thank you
The grocery had 10 red peppers for $10 so I made a double batch of this today! Love this recipe -- it really is the best soup ever!
This is a great recipe but very time intensive. I ended up cutting corners at the end with guests arriving and still unshowered. Still very good!
Delicious! I was skeptical about the corn, but it adds a wonderful sweetness and crunch to the soup! Now I'm just wondering.....how'd you make your pasta sauce?
This was so good. The corn was spectacular. I skipped some steps in preparing the cilantro oil and simply simmered a bunch of cilantro in about 1/2 cup olive oil and then let it set for a few hours. It was great. There was plenty for our four and about two servings leftover that I am right now enjoying. Cheers!
Awesome, glad it worked for you! - S
Absolutely delicious. Time consuming but worth it. Every element is crucial from the cilantro oil down to the shaved corn. However 6 portions? I think not. Maybe 3 medium sized or 4 very small portions at best.
Hmmm....glad you like it, and I'll be sure to re-check the yield the next time I make it. Thanks for the note.
It's roasting hot here in the midwest, but the beautiful corn and tomatoes at the market this morning have me convinced it's worth it to turn the oven on to make this soup! Love it!
Now that its cooling here in the Northeast, and tomatoes and corn are still abundant, I'm making more of this myself.
This was a big hit at home when I made it last week. Roasting the vegetables certainly brings a different dimension to this recipe :-)
Glad you liked it, thanks for letting me know.
Brilliant recipe. I am inclined to think it would also be good served chilled. Oui?
I did serve it chilled to rave reviews. Try it less the garnish in a glass with Vodka over rocks with a twist, that works also :)) seriously!
Oohhh...I like the way you think my friend, especially the rocks with a twist version....nice! - S
I know a dish is a keeper when my husband tells me that I need to make it for his parents when they come for a visit. He wasn't more than two bites in when he uttered those very words. The soup was delicious and will definitely be repeated!
Passed the in-law hurdle, huh? Awesome! Thanks for your lovely comment, and I'm so pleased you both liked the soup. - S
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