Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Star Anise

This soup is about the unexpected. It’s light and bright and pairs perfectly with the heaviest of winter meals. Star anise and ginger keeps the soup bright and cilantro keeps it fresh during winter’s produce lull.

I consider this soup a perfect flavor-learning dish. I want you to taste it at every stage I ask you to do so because what spice is prominent changes as things meld. It is quite an incredible experience. Make a mental note of the changes so when you’re cooking on the fly, you’ll be better equipped to adjust flavors to exactly what you want.

serves 4
Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Star Anise Ingredients
6 red bell peppers (about 2 ½ pounds)
2 cloves garlic
4 star anise
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cardamom
¼ tsp cayenne
1 ¼ tsp salt
2 Tbl honey
5 c water
2 c boiled chickpeas (see these directions)
1 c milk
1 tsp cane syrup vinegar
1/4 c cilantro (garnish)

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Star Anise Directions
Put the oven rack on its highest shelf. Preheat the oven to 475.

Put 6 whole bell peppers on a sheet pan and place it on the highest rack. Roast. You’ll start smelling it. When the top of the bell pepper is black, rotate it. Most likely the underside will already be black but the sides are still needing to char. When all sides are black, remove them from the oven. Allow it to cool enough for you to comfortably handle it.

Remove the stem and seeds. Slide your knife between the charred skin and the flesh. Throw out the skin. Some of the flesh will have black spots and that’s good. Add it to a 3 quart sauce pan.

Slice off the dry ends of 2 cloves of garlic. Lay the knife flat on the clove. Give it a good whack with the exterior of your fist. Remove the papery skin and add the cloves to the pot.

Add 4 star anise, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cardamom, ¼ tsp cayenne, 1 ¼ tsp salt, 2 Tbl honey, and 5 c water to the pot. If you have any liquid from the roast vegetables, add that to the pot as well. Bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Taste. Cover the pot. It should taste pretty flat. Maybe too much ginger and cardamom and no anise flavor. It should have slightly bitter undertones.

Simmer 30 minutes. Taste. Still heavy on cardamom, but it’s starting to play nice. Maybe a bit peppery. It will seem too watery. You might notice a hint of anise at the very end or might just experience a refreshing sensation. Boil 30 more minutes. Taste again. Remove the star anise but keep it close by because we’ll need it again.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Taste it again. Notice how it doesn’t seem quite as watery. Add 2 c of chickpeas, 1 c of milk and the same 4 star anise back to the pot. Taste again. Add salt if needed. Notice how it seems more full body and sweeter. Simmer for 30 more minutes. Taste. Remove the anise. If you’re using a 3 quart pot, your liquid level should be about 2” below the top. Add water if needed. Add 1 tsp of cane syrup vinegar. Taste. Take note of how it’s more flavorful, brighter, and sweeter. Acid is magic.

Finely mince cilantro leaves and stems. A trick is to stack the leaves and use a sharp knife to make clean cuts through the leaves. Sprinkle 1 Tbl cilantro on top of each bowl to garnish.

Notes
You can use orange bell pepper as a substitute. I don’t recommend using the green ones.

After you add the milk to the pot, keep tasting it. If you’re sensitive to anise flavor, you won’t need to simmer it as long.

Feel free to use canned chickpeas.