YELLOW PEPPER SOUP WITH LIME

Yellow Pepper Soup With Lime image

Provided by Marian Burros

Categories project, soups and stews, appetizer

Time 1h30m

Yield 9 cups or 6 to 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

4 pounds yellow bell peppers, washed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound onions, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 or 2 tiny hot red chilies, trimmed, seeded and chopped
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in one-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons very, very finely sliced makrut lime leaves
6 holy basil leaves, plus 6 to 8 sprigs for garnish
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, and bulb thinly sliced
3 pints vegetable stock
Salt to taste
6 to 8 tablespoons heavy cream for garnish
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and cut into very small dice for garnish

Steps:

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Place peppers on baking sheets, and roast until their skins turn dark brown; turn to brown all sides, about 40 minutes. Remove, place peppers in plastic bag and seal. Allow to steam at least 10 minutes; skins will come off easily. Stem, seed and remove seeds, but save the juices.
Melt butter in a pot large enough to hold the remaining ingredients. Cook onion, garlic and chilies over low heat so that they don't brown but soften. Add sweet potato, lime leaves, basil, lemongrass and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
Combine the peppers and their juices with the sweet potato mixture off the heat. Puree in a blender, in batches, until smooth. Season with salt. Refrigerate if desired.
To serve, reheat slowly and garnish with tomato and a spoonful of heavy cream dropped in the center of the soup and a sprig of basil.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 170, UnsaturatedFat 1 gram, Carbohydrate 34 grams, Fat 4 grams, Fiber 5 grams, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 2 grams, Sodium 1230 milligrams, Sugar 5 grams, TransFat 0 grams