Roasted red pepper soup with orange cream

I'm always on the look out for interesting new soup recipes to try on David. Ironically, I'm not really a fan of soup personally, but I enjoy the process of making them. Somewhat like baking, it's a steady, methodical progression of steps, adding in an element at a time. I'd spotted a recipe involving roasted red peppers and happened to come across a jar of them at Costco.

Recipe

From The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy FreshMakes 4 first course servings1 tbsp olive oil2/3 cup sliced onions2 garlic cloves, chopped1 15 oz jar roasted red peppers packed in water1 tsp sugar2 cups chicken broth1/2 cup orange juice2 tbsp heavy cream3/4 tsp finely grated orange peelHeat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Add red peppers with their liquid. Stir in sugar; sauté 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of broth and simmer 5 minutes. Cool soup slightly. Working in batches, purée soup in blender.Return soup to pan. Bring to simmer, and stir in orange juice. Thin soup with more broth if desired. Season to taste. Whisk cream and orange peel in small bowl until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle orange cream over soup and serve.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: I didn't have heavy cream, just half and half, which didn't have quite the same effect. Next time it would be nice to have a bit of cream whipped slightly to drizzle on top.Despite the red peppers coming from a jar, David noted that he liked out fresh and light tasting it was. He enjoyed the roasted flavour coupled with the slight tang from the orange juice. It was also quite simple to make, which I appreciated, and will make a nice light lunch or snack for David for the next few days. Score.