This is a failure that turned into a moderate success. I had the idea of saucing cauliflower with a nice vegetable puree, and it turned out a lot more boring than I thought it would. It was fine, but it needed something else besides just the straight-ahead flavors of red peppers and carrots to move it along. So into a plastic container it went, until a couple days later, when I was nosing around for something for lunch and I spotted it. It had come out too thick, and I wondered how it would thin out as a soup. Pretty well, as it turns out, and if, in the initial cooking, you’re trying to produce a soup, and you’re not trying to massively reduce the amount of water in it (as you do if you’re trying to produce an intense vegetable puree) you don’t have to mess around with cooking it quite so long. It makes things drastically easier.
Since I didn’t make this recipe exactly in the form I am giving it, this is a rough approximation. The only thing I’m really unsure on is how much water to tell you to add to the puree.
If I made this again as a soup I’d probably add a little mint, basil, or dill for interest before I pureed.
1 – 13 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed briefly
4 large carrots, scrubbed and cut into large chunks
¼ c. heavy cream
2 drops lemon oil (optional – a little bit of organic lemon zest on the finished soup would be a fine replacement if you don’t have lemon oil)
small amount of salt (remember, RRP are salty) and pepper
Boil the carrots in a small amount of lightly salted water until tender. Drain the carrots, reserving the liquid in a bowl. Place the carrots in a blender or food processor. Add the roasted red peppers and puree thoroughly. Return the puree to the carrot pan, and add the cream and lemon oil, if using. Thin the soup slightly, using the carrot water, to the consistency desired. Salt and pepper to taste, taking into account the saltiness of the roasted red peppers.
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