Soup duo: Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup & Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

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Soup duo:

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup & Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

Serves: 6

Soup duo: Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup & Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

It is hard to believe...but this is my 100th post! It has been great fun and a constant challenge to come up with interesting and tasty delights. But for my centennial recipe, I wanted to do something special....a soup recipe that will amaze your guests and family!

I will not try to convince you that this “soup duo” is a mid week meal. But for that special time, that special dinner – this is one that will knock their socks off. Truly, it is a showstopper. Neither soup is difficult or time consuming alone, but you have to make two. Serve it with simpler entrée – like steak or fish, so you will have time for this sensation. The most important aspect is getting the consistency of both soups to be the same so when you simultaneously pour them into a bowl they remain separate. My friend Susan provided this amazing recipe several years ago…I have made dozens of times since to consistently rave reviews. It is not difficult but given that you make two distinct soups – it does take some time. Gratefully, both can easily be done well in advance.

To decrease the suspense....here is how to pour the two soups into the bowl

For the pepper soup:

• 3 Tb finely chopped shallots
• ½ tsp dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 Tb unsalted butter
• 6 yellow peppers, roasted and coarsely chopped (about 6 C.)
• 1½ C low salt chicken or veggie broth plus additional to thin soup if necessary
• ¼ C heavy cream
• Fresh lemon juice to taste
• Salt & pepper

For the tomato soup:

• 3 lbs. plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
• 3 unpeeled large garlic cloves
• 3 Tb finely chopped shallots
• ½ tsp dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 Tb unsalted butter
• 1½ C low salt chicken or veggie broth plus additional to thin soup if necessary
• ¼ C heavy cream
• Fresh lemon juice to taste
• Salt & pepper

For the Serrano cream:

• 3-4 fresh Serrano chilies or jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
• 1 large garlic clove, minced & mashed to a paste with 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ C crème fraiche or sour cream

Make the pepper soup: To roast the peppers, use a long handled fork and char peppers over an open flame until skins are blackened on all sides. Putting them under a broiler will achieve the same result and can be easier unless you have a very hot flame. The goal here is near total carbonization of the exterior. As it heats, the liquid just under the surface converts to steam, forcing the skin outwards and away from the flesh. This small area of air and water vapor just under the skin insulates the flesh underneath, preventing it from burning.

Roasting the peppers. They should be almost totally black when done

After the peppers are completely blackened, transfer to a bowl, cover with saran 10-15 minutes. The loosened peel slips right off, leaving the flesh clean and un-charred, but infused with deep smoky flavor from the blackened skin. Avoid using water to remove the peel, as it will dilute the wonderful flavor of the roasted pepper. Seed and coarsely chop the peppers.

The charred skin should just fall off

In a heavy saucepan cook the shallots, thyme, salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until shallots are soft but not browned. Add the coarse chopped peppers and broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 12-15 minutes, or until the peppers are very soft.  

Juicy, roasted peppers ready for making a puree

In a blender puree the soup in batches until it is smooth, forcing it as it is pureed through a fine sieve set over a pan. Alternatively, one could use a food mill as I have done and bypass the sieve part. 

Food mill. See below for a pic of how it works

Food mills were popular with our grandmothers but were pushed aside as electric food processors and blenders appeared on the scene. Yet neither of those fancy contraptions can perform quite like a food mill, which is a cross between a food processor and a sieve. You turn the handle and an angled blade presses the contents of the mill through a perforated disk, keeping any pesky remnants like seeds or skin safely out of your puree. Unlike a food processor or blender, however, a food mill does not incorporate air into the puree, thereby altering its texture. The result is a denser puree. Once done, whisk in the cream, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

The Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup

Make the tomato soup: Spread the tomatoes, skin side down, in one layer in 2 foil-lined jelly roll pans, add the garlic to one of the pans, and bake the tomatoes and garlic in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 min to 1 hour, or until tomatoes are very soft and their skin is brown. Let the tomatoes and garlic cool. 

Spread the tomatoes skin side down

Roasted tomatoes

In a heavy saucepan, cook the shallots and oregano in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until shallots are soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes, garlic (skins discarded), and broth and simmer the mixture, covered for 15 minutes. Proceed as above for pepper soup using a blender and sieve or food mill. 

Food mill at work. Note husband dutifully turning the crank.

Once done, whisk in cream and lemon juice, and the salt and pepper to taste. Both soups should have the same consistency. Add additional broth to achieve that. Both soups can be made one day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.

The Roasted Tomato Soup

Make the Serrano cream: In a blender, blend together the chilies, the garlic paste and the crème fraiche until the mixture is combined well. Be careful to not over blend or the cream may curdle. Force the mixture through a fine sieve set over a bowl.  The Serrano cream may be made one day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and brought to room temperature before serving.

Removing seeds from the chili

To serve the soup: For each serving, ladle ½ C of each soup into 2 glass measuring cups, pour the soups simultaneously into a shallow soup bowl from opposite sides of the bowl, and drizzle some of the Serrano cream over each serving. Feel free to get decorative in the addition of the Serrano cream….we served this last on St. Patrick’s Day…hence the picture. Many thanks to Kerri for her help in these pics.

Kerri adding a St. Pattie's Serrano cream sauce

Plan ahead – remember to make an easy entrée – and make the soups the day before…then this is very doable and will make quite the impression at your next dinner party. You will love the vibrant flavors of the peppers, tomatoes with a hint of heat from the chilies. It’s an amazing taste combo worthy of the gorgeous presentation.

Bon Appetit

Larue