Okay so this roasted red pepper and gouda soup thing kept popping up online, right? Looked cozy. Figured I’d wrestle it into submission in my own kitchen. Grabbed my ingredients: big red peppers, some gouda cheese – the nice smoky kind – onion, garlic, stock, couple potatoes to thicken it. Simple stuff.
The Roasting Drama, Seriously
First job: roast those peppers. Easy, slap them under the broiler? Wrong. Broiler on high, peppers washed and dried, tossed ’em straight on the baking sheet. Popped it in.
Five minutes later… burning smell. Dammit. Pulled it out fast. Scorched bottoms, tops barely touched. Lesson one: place the rack lower. Dropped the rack way down. Scraped the worst black bits off the poor peppers, flipped ’em, shoved them back in.
This time watched them like a hawk. Ten minutes, charred skins bubbling. Used tongs to flip, feeling clumsy. Another ten minutes. Okay, looking nasty black all over. Finally! Whipped them out and dumped them straight into a big bowl, covered tight with plastic wrap. Let them sweat it out for 15 minutes. Steaming makes peeling easier, trust me.
Peeled the skin off. Mostly came off okay, sticky mess though. Pulled out the stems and seeds. Feels weird tearing up peppers. Ended up with a decent pile of soft, kinda smoky-smelling roasted red pepper flesh. Progress.
Getting Soupy
Heated up my pot. Tossed in some olive oil. Chopped the onion and garlic – cried real tears, like always. Threw them in and stirred. Cooked ’em soft and smelling good, maybe five minutes.
Piled in the roasted peppers. Gave it a good stir. Cut the potatoes small so they cook quick, chucked them in too. Poured enough veggie stock to cover everything. Sprinkled salt and a big shake of black pepper. Lid on. Brought it to a boil, then knocked the heat down to simmer. Left it bubbling gently for about 20 minutes until the potatoes were soft. Like, poke-it-with-a-fork soft.
The Cheese Gambit & Blender Fun
Took the pot off the heat. Let it cool down a bit, lukewarmish. Time to blend. Poured the whole mess into my blender. Put the lid on real tight. Covered it with a kitchen towel just in case. Pulsed it a few times first, then let it rip on smooth. Whirrr! Had to stop and scrape down the sides. Got it silky smooth. Back into the pot it went.
Now, cheese time. Diced the gouda small – helps it melt without clumping. Put the pot back on low heat. Stirred the soup, feeling it get warm. Started adding the cheese bit by bit. Stirred like crazy the whole time. Took patience. Eventually, all the cheese melted right in. Beautiful, creamy orange color. Taste test! Needed more salt. Added a pinch. Good. Black pepper? Added more.
Served it hot. Dunked some crusty bread right in there. Oh yeah. Creamy. Smoky. Cheesy. Soup victory. Messy process, tasty result. Worth the burned pepper scare.
