ricketyclick

I recently posted a recipe for a bell pepper soup.

The soup is very robust–savory and tangy, but not spicy. The relatively short cooking time allows the flavors to mingle some, but the individual pepper pieces retain their character and firm texture.

I’ve since made a larger batch under my mother’s tutelage; here’s the result:

Makes 5 to 6 servings
4 red bell peppers OR 2 red and 2 yellow
1-1/2 small onions
5 to 6 garlic cloves
3 strips bacon
1-1/2 tblsp beef base paste (Better Than Bouillon ™)
5 cups water
1 tblsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 parsley frond (optional)
1 tsp basil (optional)
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

Chop the peppers and onion into 1″ squares (spoon-size).
Mince garlic.

I expect some people will want to include green peppers as well, but I prefer the less bitter red and yellow varieties. I like the reds the best, and might use them exclusively for myself but the yellow or orange adds visual appeal.

Use a purple onion for even more color.

Chop the bacon into 1/2″ chunks. Fry until just barely crisp, then strain out the bits; retain for later.

Mom suggested the trick of using the kitchen shears to chop the bacon.

Saute the onion in the bacon grease until almost transparent, then add the peppers and garlic and saute until the peppers begin to soften.

Mom and I considered adding celery, even carrots. In the end, we decided that anything like that started down the path to ordinary vegetable soup.

Thin the beef paste with a little bit of water in the measuring cup so it will mix well, then top off the cup and add it and the rest of the water to the vegetables. (Frankly, I’d've used only 4 cups of water; I like a strong stock. But that’s why I had Mom, to provide a reality check: she thought that made it too salty.)

The Better Than Bouillon beef base lives up to its name; it’s very good. Reading the labels, regular dried bouillon (cubes or powder) is essentially fillers with beef flavoring, while the BtB is beef stock with seasoning reduced to a paste. In my first attempt, I used chicken stock, but the beef stands up better against the peppers.

Add Wustershustershire and other seasoning, as desired.

Thyme is the most important seasoning; I might use as much two teaspoons.

A bay leaf wouldn’t hurt, particularly if you made this in a slow cooker over 4-6 hours. Half an hour isn’t really long enough to leach all the goodness out. Hm, I guess you could start the stock early, and let the bay simmer for a while longer….

Mom grows her own parsley; she snipped it up, so I have no real idea how much went in, or how that would translate to parsley powder. So, about a frond.

I’m very fond of basil, but Mom and Dad–not so much. I think I’m going to try to grow some basil this year, so I’ll report on that another time.

Bring to a boil, then let simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes until the peppers are al dente–firm but not crunchy.

Just before the finish, add the bacon bits and balsamic vinegar

I like this with pumpernickel toast instead of crackers.

Adding the bacon near the end keeps it from going limp. The vinegar will boil off if added at the start.

Half a cup of balsamic vineger makes a pretty tangy soup. Mom and I, both pickle people, liked it that way; I could have gone for as much 3/4 cup. Dad would have preferred no more than a 1/4 cup–but Dad has a rather bland tongue.

Wine might be an interesting alternative to the vinegar.

I originally speculated about using the slow cooker, but I’ve decided it’s not necessary, and might make the peppers and onions lose their identities.