Triple Red Roasted Capsicum Soup

I finally got my new blogger camera and I love it. It seems to do the job and it was on special ($50 off) when I went to the shop to buy it, I took this as a good omen.

Do I feel seedy and a bit stressed out by the firing up of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) I have been looking forward to this for a long time. (We shall see if it will uncover the “god” particle that gives mass to matter.) And I needed a tonic of high antioxidants to counter the stress hormones that my body has been pumping into me lately. I thought why not Triple Red Roasted Capsicum Soup (Triple Red Roasted Bell Pepper Soup). As most people know red capsicum is classed as a superfood because it packed with all sorts of goodies and has a huge antioxidant content, and this soup contains a triple dose of goodness from the roasted red capsicum, the smoked paprika and the cayenne pepper (which all are made from capsicum).

Here is a summary of a paper on the Antioxidant Activities of Different Coloured Sweet Bell Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) - Antioxidant compounds and their antioxidant activity in 4 different colored (green, yellow, orange, and red) sweet bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) were investigated. The total phenolics content of green, yellow, orange, and red peppers determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau method were 2.4, 3.3, 3.4, and 4.2 μmol catechin equivalent/g fresh weight, respectively. The red pepper had significantly higher total phenolics content than the green pepper. Among the 4 different colored peppers, red pepper contained a higher level of β-carotene (5.4 μg/g), capsanthin (8.0 μg/g), quercetin (34.0 μg/g), and luteolin (11.0 μg/g). The yellow pepper had the lowest β-carotene content (0.2 μg/g), while the green one had undetectable capsanthin and the lowest content of luteolin (2.0 μg/g). The free radical scavenging abilities of peppers determined by the 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method were lowest for the green pepper (2.1 μmol Trolox equivalent/g) but not significantly different from the other 3 peppers. All 4 colored peppers exhibited significant abilities in preventing the oxidation of cholesterol or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6) during heating. However, these 4 peppers did not show significant differences in their abilities in preventing cholesterol oxidation. The green pepper showed slightly higher capability in preventing the oxidation of DHA compared to the other 3 peppers.

Triple Red Roasted Capsicum Soup
½ kilo of ripe red capsicums (1 lb of red bell peppers)
3 cups of vegetable stock
2 teaspoons of butter
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 clove garlic minced finely
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
¼ teaspoons hot cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sourdough bread to serve.

Method
1.Cut the capsicum into flat strips. Spread with olive oil spread.
2.Grill (Broil) under a very hot griller until the strips are completely black.
3.Place into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool.
4.Remove blackened skins from the capsicum flesh and cut flesh into small pieces.
5.Place butter and olive oil into small pan and fry minced garlic until a light brown colour.
6.Add the stock, the cut up capsicum flesh the paprika and simmer for 10-20 mins.
7.Blend using a wand blender until smooth. Adjust seasoning.
8.Serve with sourdough bread.

I can feel the antioxidants coursing through my body now, yummy, the smoked paprika and the cayenne pepper complement the taste of the roasted red capsicums so nicely. That hit the spot.


Grill the capsicum until it is completely black


Notice how black the skins are and the plastic covered bowl.


A close up of the cut up capsicum.

Frying the garlic.

Simmering for a while.

The final result yum yum in my tum tum. Notice the steam coming off the soup. Even better the next day. The sourdough was home-made.



Also roasted bell peppers can be bottled and stored for a very long time. Use washed and boiled bottles and olive oil to completely cover the peppers. Will keep for a year. It is a very expensive item (bottled roasted bell peppers) over $50/kg in Australia.