Description
This delicious vegan roasted red pepper soup is flavoured with sweet smoked paprika and sherry vinegar, and thickened with blanched almonds – just like that terracotta red Spanish sauce classic, romesco sauce!
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 large red peppers
- 1 1/2 tbsp light olive oil
- freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
- 1 large brown onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 60g (2 oz) blanched almonds
- 1 litre 200ml (5 cups) vegetable stock
- 2 tsp sherry vinegar
- golden caster sugar
- lightly toasted flakes almonds (optional, to garnish)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees (420 fahrenheit). De-seed and quarter the peppers and spread them across two baking trays lined with tin foil. Toss with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the peppers are charred.
- Transfer the peppers to a heatproof glass bowl and cover with kitchen wrap. Allow the peppers to steam for 20 minutes – this will mean that you’re easily able to peel of the skins. Do so, and roughly chop the peppers, returning them to the bowl where some of their delicious juices will have gathered.
- Peel and roughly chop the onion and peel the garlic cloves. Heat the remaining 1/2 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan over a medium high heat. With a pinch of salt, add the onions and gently fry for 4-5 minutes until just soft and starting to go golden. Add the garlic, crushed, and cook for a further minute until aromatic. Follow with the paprika, and cook for another minute.
- Add the peppers, almonds and stock. Raise the heat to high and the moment it starts to boil reduce it down to low. Allow to simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the sherry vinegar, a pinch of sugar and a bit more seasoning. Using a stick blender blitz until smooth, making sure you’ve blended in all the almonds and there are no bits left at the bottom of the pan. Season to taste before serving with a scattering of flaked almonds, if you wish.