Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

Serves 4 
(Makes 4 cups)

Ingredients:

4 TBS olive oil
4 red peppers, seeded and cut in half
8 plum / roma tomatoes, cut in half
6 cloves of fresh garlic
1 white onion, quartered
salt & pepper
1 tsp fresh oregano or thyme
1 tsp fresh basil
1 tsp fresh parsley
or 2 tsp of dried Italian seasoning
1-2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (for vegan option)
1- 2 TBS milk or cream, or milk substitute (added at the end)


Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Drizzle some olive oil in a baking pan. Slice the tomatoes in half and place them in the pan. Slice the red peppers in half and remove the seeds and center core. Place them in the same pan and spread them out.

Add the garlic, quartered onion, salt & pepper, and herbs. Drizzle with a bit more oil.

Bake for about 45 minutes to one hour until peppers and tomatoes are soft.  Cover, and cool slightly.
Removed the skins from the tomatoes. They should peel off easily.
To remove the skins from the red peppers, put the peppers in a plastic bag for about 15 minutes. Then remove them and using a paring knife, lift the skin and peel it off the pepper. The 'sweating' in the bag makes this very easy to do.

Put all the ingredients and juices from the pan in a food processor or vitamix/blender and blend till smooth. Add about 1 - 2  cups of broth to make the soup the consistency you like. Some people like it a bit thick, so add less liquid as you blend it. For a thinner soup, add more broth.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Add the cream or milk substitute, and blend. The cream makes a richer, smoother consistency.

Top with fresh chopped basil to serve.

This is a great winter soup and you can substitute different roasted vegetables like sweet potatoes or cauliflower. Make it the same way.