Roasted Red Pepper Soup

We had this yummy soup at a restaurant a couple of years ago and were eager to make it at home. We've experimented with good flavors and various ways of making it and have come down to a basic plan that is enhanced with whatever herbs you like with these flavors. This is easy, but not specific. Make it how you like it.

Last week WinnCo had red peppers on sale for 68 cents each. That is a great deal around here when the normal winter price is about 2 dollars apiece. So I loaded a big bag and took them out to the grill to roast them. Turn as the skins blacken and blister to get all sides roasted. When they are blistered all around, put in a paper bag and roll it closed. Let them steam in the bag for a 20-30 minutes or so. Scrap the skin off and remove the stem and as many of the seeds as you want to remove. Blend it to a puree. If you do a bunch at once you can freeze the puree in whatever size portions you want. I now have a bunch of red pepper popsicles in my freezer - almost instant soup.

Alternatives to grilling the peppers include oven roasting, roasting on stove top over a gas burner or in a cast iron pan. I just think that I can do a lot more peppers in less time if I roast them outside on the grill.

For the soup combine red pepper puree with chicken broth and potato flakes (or real mashed potatoes if you want) to get the combination of flavor and density of soup that you like. Add herbs that you like. I kind of like thyme and a very little bit of oregano with snipped chives to garnish it - but that is what I have in the garden.
Salt and Pepper to taste.