Grilled Pepper Soup

Hello, Today I am going to show you something that even the most dedicated meat eaters will love. I believe there is no better way to start a grill-party.

8 capia peppers (if you can't find those, look for sweet, thick fleshed ones)

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

2 + 1 tablespoons of olive oil (2 goes under the onion, 1 to sprinkle on top of the soup)

500 ml stock (chicken, preferably)

400 ml water

salt and black pepper

5 tablespoons sour cream (you may substitute it with Greek Yogurt)

Topping:

fresh basil

your favorite cheese (I bought a fabulous lavender infused ripened cheese at the local market, I used that one and labneh - soft cheese)

Wash your peppers, dry and put them on the grill. Heavy rain kept me inside, so this time I used the oven (grill function), but you get the same results or even better with a classic, open-air grill. The first picture was taken after the peppers spent 20 minutes in the oven at 230 Celsius, then I turned them and put them back for another 10-15 minutes. Times may vary depending on the performance of the oven. What we are looking for is part of the skin actually turning black (pic.2).

When your peppers are ready, quickly transfer them into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Steam will develop and will make it easier to get rid of the skin. Let them sit there a couple of minutes, then one by one pull the skin off, remove the stem, open up the pepper and with a small knife, de-seed them. Chop the peppers.

Dice the onion, chop the garlic. Put 2 tablespoons of oil into a saucepan, add the onion, sauté until it gets transparent, add the garlic and the pepper. Add the stock and the water, season with salt and pepper. Bring it to boil, let it simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Blend your soup, add the sour cream and blend it once again. No need to cook with the sour cream.

Serve at room temperature (top with the cheese, fresh basil, sprinkle with olive oil) and enjoy!