Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper and Sun-dried Tomato Soup

Roasted Red Pepper and Sun-dried Tomato Soup

Makes 4 bento servings.

1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes
(about 8 pieces do not use the oil-packed type)
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
3 sweet or bell red peppers, charred, skinned, and seeded,
or a 6-ounce jar of prepared roasted sweet peppers
2 fresh ripe plum tomatoes, cut into eighths
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 fresh basil leaves, for garnish (use purple basil if available)

Rehydrate the dried tomatoes by soaking them in warm water for 1 hour.

Sweat the onion in the olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, uncovered, for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not let the onion color.

Add the stock, rehydrated tomatoes, roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes, salt, and pepper and let it all simmer together for 10 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blender and process at high speed for 4 minutes, until very smooth. Then pass it through a strainer to remove the vegetable skins, Adjust the seasoning and serve with fresh basil leaves as a garnish.

From:
Simple Menus For The Bento Box
By Ellen Greaves & Wayne Nish
William Morrow & Company, Inc.
ISBN: 0-688-14204-4
Hardcover $25.00
Recipes Reprinted by permission.