Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Sweet Potato

My middle son wanted to make foccacia bread today, and I thought I'd make some soup to go with it for dinner, which works perfectly with the cold and blustery weather we're having.  Three ginormous red peppers in the fridge and a large sweet potato were all I needed to be inspired!  Here's how I made it:

First heat up your broiler.  Halve the peppers, pull out the seeds and pith and place them skin side up on a non-stick or lightly oiled baking tin.  Put them under the broiler for about 15 minutes (check frequently) until the skins are blackened all over.  Take them out and let them cool off until you can handle them without getting your fingers burnt.  Peel the skins off and remove any remaining seeds and stems.

While the peppers are broiling, roughly chop an onion, a celery rib, and three cloves of garlic.  Peel and cube a large sweet potato.  Sautee the onion and celery in about a tablespoon of olive oil in a soup kettle til soft.  Add the garlic and sweet potato, and sautee another minute or so.  Now you can add your roasted and peeled peppers to the pot, along with 5-6 cups of vegetable stock, 2 Bay leaves, a pinch each of dried rosemary, thyme and summer savory, a dash of tumeric and some freshly ground black pepper.  Bring to a boil and then simmer gently until the sweet potato cubes are soft.  Remove the Bay leaves, blend until smooth with an immersion blender and check the seasoning.  Enjoy!

So glad I didn't see this last summer!

This happened in July 2011 - a year later, we stayed at the same area (Canyon) and hiked there - with bear spray but I was nervous the entire time about running into a bear.



Yellowstone is gorgeous and I am so glad we went there, but it is wild and potentially dangerous.  So tragic for the man who lost his life and for his family.