After not-so-fun dental work today, and strict orders not to chew, some kind of soup seemed in order.  Not to mention it was an ugly rainy day…perfect for a yummy soup.  I had gone to a great little cafe with one of my managers a couple of weeks ago, and we’d had a delicious yellow and orange pepper soup – I was dying to try to recreate it, and this was a good opportunity!  This was a mish-mash of a few recipes, but what I liked about the base (from Epicurious) was that it didn’t use cream or milk – the thickness comes from a couple of potatoes.  I used chicken stock in this because that’s what I had, but I think it would be better with vegetable stock and would of course be an easy vegetarian option that way.  It was delicious and healthy…definitely going in the regular rotation!

• 6 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded and halved lengthwise
• 4 tablespoons butter (I used Smart Balance)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped leeks
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 3 small boiling potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 5 to 6 cups chicken or veg stock
• Chives
• Parmesan cheese

Lay 6 pepper halves, cut-side down, on a baking sheet; broil until well charred, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plastic bag; seal for 10 minutes. Slip off and discard the skins. Coarsely chop the roasted peppers, then set aside.
Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, cumin and peppers; sauté over low heat about 10 to 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Coarsely chop the remaining 6 pepper halves; add to the pot with the potatoes, reserved roasted peppers and 5 cups broth. Simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.  Puree with a hand blender or regular blender.  Top with chopped chives and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
Makes about generous servings at about 255 calories each.