Yellow Pepper Soup with Wild Mushroom Croutons

This recipe is a delicious lesson in how roasting sweetens and deepens the flavor of bell peppers. The peppers can be roasted a day ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to prepare the soup. -Recipe by Taji Marie

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 2 croutons)

Ingredients

• Soup:
• 6  large yellow bell peppers
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1  cup  chopped leek
• 1  cup  finely chopped peeled baking potato
• 1  cup  chopped carrot
• 2  teaspoons  Hungarian sweet paprika
• 1  bay leaf
• 2  cups  water
• 1  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 
  Croutons:
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 4  cups  chopped mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, shiitake, button, and oyster)
• 2  tablespoons  dry white wine
• 1/2  teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped parsley
• 2  tablespoons  whipping cream
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  (8-ounce) French bread baguette, cut into 12 slices

Preparation

Preheat oven to 500°.

To prepare soup, place peppers on a jelly-roll pan. Lightly coat peppers with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 30 minutes or until blackened on all sides, turning occasionally. Place peppers in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 20 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Cut in half lengthwise; discard membranes and seeds.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek, potato, and carrot; cook 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and bay leaf. Add water and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Stir in roasted pepper halves; simmer 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

Place half of bell pepper mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining bell pepper mixture. Keep warm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare croutons, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; reduce heat to medium. Stir in wine; cook 15 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Stir in thyme and garlic; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in parsley, cream, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

Place bread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until toasted. Place 1 heaping tablespoon mushroom mixture on each crouton. Serve croutons with soup.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

244 (21% from fat)

Fat:

6.1g (sat 1.8g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.9g)

Protein:

8.1g

Carbohydrate:

41.5g

Fiber:

6.5g

Cholesterol:

7mg

Iron:

2.5mg

Sodium:

588mg

Calcium:

68mg