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FARGO 鈥� If soup is as popular in your home as it is in ours, then this Fire-Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup will be a great addition to your weeknight repertoire. Making soup often feels like a project for a weekend afternoon, but not this one. Richly warm and comforting, this flavorful soup puree is made with common pantry staples and can be on your table within 30 minutes.

To give this soup its fire-roasted nature, I use a combination of roasted red peppers and fire-roasted diced tomatoes. When buying roasted red peppers, I look for a variety that has large pieces of pepper visible in the jar, which gives me more options if there are any peppers leftover after making the soup.

I use Hunt鈥檚 fire-roasted diced tomatoes, which is the brand I find to be most regularly available in our local grocery stores. You could use regular diced tomatoes, or even whole tomatoes, but the fire-roasted variety complements the smokiness of the roasted red peppers to produce a soup with a wonderful depth of flavor.

Sarah Nasello / The Forum

The aromatics in this soup are the usual suspects: onion, garlic, crushed red peppers, paprika and dried oregano. I didn鈥檛 include any fresh herbs in this recipe, but you could add a sprig of fresh basil or parsley if you happen to have some on hand.

I love making soup purees because the prep work is so easy. Since most of the ingredients are cooked together before being blended into liquid form, there is no need to mince or even finely chop any ingredients. Instead, everything is just roughly chopped, and neither size nor shape matters.

Sarah Nasello / The Forum

Once the soup mixture has simmered for about 15 minutes, I remove the pot from the stove and let it cool for just a bit before blended it into a puree. I use a handheld immersion blender to blitz the soup together, and you could also use a liquid blender or food processor to create the puree. For a chunkier texture, you could puree just half of the soup mixture and leave the rest intact.

Once the soup is smooth and free of any lumps, I stir in half a cup of heavy cream to make it lush and velvety. For a final burst of flavor, I add a splash of lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce before heating the soup over medium-low until it is good and hot. At this stage, you can serve it immediately, refrigerate it for several days or freeze it for up to three months.

I garnish this soup with freshly grated aged gouda cheese, which adds just the right punch of tangy creaminess. If you can鈥檛 find aged gouda (I have found good varieties at Hornbacher鈥檚 and Costco), look for other tangy cheeses like aged Cheddar, Pecorino Romano or Gruyere.

Big on flavor and deceptively simple to make, this Fire-Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup is the perfect choice when you鈥檙e craving homemade soup in the middle of the week. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, large-diced
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
录 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
2 14.5-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with juices
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
陆 teaspoon dried oregano
录 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
陆 teaspoon ground black pepper
陆 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
5 drops hot sauce (like Tabasco)
Aged gouda, grated, to garnish

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until hot. Add the onions and saut茅 until soft and translucent, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and continue to cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring often. Stir in the roasted red peppers and diced tomatoes, including the juices, and cook for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.

Sarah Nasello / The Forum

Add the chicken broth, water, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir to fully incorporate. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the burner and let cool for 5 minutes.

Use a liquid or immersion blender to blitz until smooth and fully free of any lumps. Return the pot to the burner over medium-low heat. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice, Worcester sauce and hot sauce; stir until fully combined. Cook until hot, about 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with a generous sprinkling of grated Gouda cheese and serve immediately.

To store: The soup may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the soup to thaw before reheating.

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Recipes can be found with the article at InForum.com.