Last weekend I visited a tiny restaurant in the one street town of Los Alamos, California where I had one of the best, most creative vegetable soups I have ever tasted. The deep red broth tinged with glistening olive oil blended vegetable, tomato and pureed roasted red bell pepper into a rich flavor as perfectly balanced as a fine Bordeaux. Scattered on top were crisp sautéed slivers of Haricot Vert, fennel bulb, sweet onion and winter squash, all the colors and tastes of autumn. Following is my version of that creative, wonderful soup.

Autumn Vegetable Soup
Serves 4 full portions

Hints

1. Roasted peppers take time, so I scorch them a day ahead, put them in a plastic bag knotted at the top and let them sit over night. It makes peeling a quick and easy as the skins just rub off. And at the bottom of the bag is a good cupful of roasted pepper juice.
2. Tomato paste in a tube offers the advantage of adding tomato flavor in small amounts. To get the right flavor blend, add it by the teaspoon, tasting after each addition. Too much will overwhelm the subtle roasted pepper taste. Once that happens it can’t be corrected without roasting more peppers.
3. The garnish is made up of onion and whatever fresh vegetables you might have on hand: broccoli or cauliflower florets, green beans, fresh winter squash, fennel bulb, carrot or any vegetable that will add taste, color and sauté to a slightly crisp texture.
4. This soup would make a dramatic first course served in small bowls or cups.

Ingredients

For Soup:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped sweet onion (Walla Walla Sweet, Vidalia, Maui)
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
3 large red and 2 large orange bell peppers, roasted, skinned and with seeds and pith removed
1, 15oz. can diced tomatoes with juice, not tomato puree
1 quart vegetable or lite chicken stock
3-4 tbs. fresh lemon juice
3-5 tbs. tomato paste
1/8 tsp. dehydrated red pepper flakes
2 tbs. corn starch
Sea salt to taste

For Garnish:
Julienne cut or shaved: sweet onion, string beans, bell pepper, fennel, carrot, winter squash, etc. You want to end up with about 3 tbs. of crisp, sautéed vegetables per serving.

Procedure

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook at medium low heat until both are softened. Remove from heat.
2. Puree onion, garlic, peppers and tomato in a processor until there are no lumps, 3-4 minutes. Add half of the stock to the puree and strain, pressing some of the pulp through the strainer. Combine that with the rest of the stock in a large saucepan.
3. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice 1 tbs. at a time. Then begin to add tomato paste 1 tbs. at a time. The tomato paste will add a depth or density to the soup flavor, but it shouldn’t overwhelm the roasted pepper taste. If you like the soup after the 1st tbs. don’t add any more.
4. Let the soup simmer for another minute or two and taste it again. Add some red pepper flakes and after a minute more add salt to taste.
5. Mix the corn starch with a little stock or water and add to the soup. Don’t let it simmer more than a couple of minutes, until it thickens.
6. Turn the heat off and let the flavors develop while you sauté the garnish vegetables.
7. Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan. Sauté the garnish vegetables one at a time, putting them on paper towel until all are finished.
8. To Serve: Ladle soup into heated bowls. Drizzle a little olive oil over the soup, and sprinkle vegetables in the center of each serving as a garnish.