Paint The Town Red Romesco Soup

If Marc’s Bachelor Boy Vindaloo won Darsh’s heart, this was the soup that snagged his. A riff on the Catalan classic Romesco sauce, this soup is fiery, smokey and sexy red – the perfect starter to get date night going (wink, wink). It is the kind of dish which deserves to be tagged with ‘#foodporn’, hashtag justsaying. Plus it’s crazy simple to make!

Ingredients

• 4 medium / 3 large red bell peppers, roasted and chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, rough chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, rough chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder (more if you like the heat)
• 2/3 cup low-fat milk
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1- 2 cans water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pepper to taste
• Roasted almond slices to garnish

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot, and add the onions. Cook the onions till soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Just keep stirring it every now and then to avoid browning.
2. Add the garlic and cook for about three more minutes.
3. Now it's time to introduce the roasted bell peppers, tomatoes (juice and all), cayenne powder, salt and pepper to the party, mix well.
4. Add 1 can of water, or more if the mixture is too thick.
5. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let cook for about 10 minutes, to allow all the flavours to really get to know each other.
6. Take off heat and blend the soup. Strain to remove any lumps and pour the mixture back into the pot and re-heat.
7. Pour in the milk and check the seasoning. Allow to simmer for a few more minutes.
8. Serve hot, garnished with roasted almonds.

Tip

You can use pre-roasted peppers from a jar to save time, but Darsh prefers to roast the bell peppers over the stovetop. We feel this gets us a more intense, smokey flavour. Of course, this takes time and is quite a messy affair, but worth it.