I really don't need to go to Costco but I still do it.
Today's recipe is a direct result of my careless Costco-ing, you know, the kind where you pick up a 46 ounce jar of roasted red peppers and realize after opening them that they need to be used in less than 15 days. I originally opened the one jar I bought and plucked out a whole pepper to make hummus. But there's still like, a bunch of other peppers in there and I started the countdown clock with no other plans to do anything with the rest.
But I definitely have been thinking about making my own roasted red pepper gouda soup because the cafeteria at my office has a version that I absolutely adore. It's to the point that when I get a new job, I'm going to miss that soup more than possibly any other aspect of it (oops is that something I shouldn't admit?). Whatever, that soup's good. So there's two reasons it's a good thing I bought this massive jar of peppers.
Of course you know that since I had this big ole jar of peppers, it needed a big hunk of gouda to go with it! A Costco-sized hunk of gouda too. And you see where this goes. Endless gouda. Endless red peppers. But yet, I continue to go to Costco! Luckily this isn't a frequent occurrence. It's only two or three times a year. My mom lets me share an account there with her that she pays for, so it doesn't cost us anything (yaaaay).
So let's get into making this soup. I find that an immersion blender is the number one best way to blend up soups, and this Cuisinart immersion blender has been in business in this house for at least 10 years at this point, so you know you'll get your money's worth if you've been waffling on getting one.
Roasted Red Pepper Gouda Soup
Equipment
- Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- ½ medium onion diced
- 12 ounces roasted red peppers drained
- 3 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup milk
- 2 ½ cups vegetable or chicken stock
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup shredded gouda reserve some for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sized stock pot over medium heat.
- Cook the onions until they are translucent, about 4 minutes.
- Add in the carrots, garlic, peppers, and tomato paste. Saute for 5 minutes, keep stirring to prevent burning.
- Mix in the stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and lightly simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and cheese. Once the cheese is melted, remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Use an immersion blender to puree throughly until the soup is velvety smooth.
- Serve with a garnish of cheese and thyme, plus toasted bread for dipping.
One of the reasons I keep going back to Costco is for the non-perishables more than anything, and by that I mean trash bags and toilet paper. We bought a 200 pack of trash bags on our last trip and I bet you we won't have to think about buying trash bags again until 2022 at least. Wouldn't you love to not have to think about trash bags for two years?! Toilet paper is another big one. Those huge sacks of TP last us three months easily. If I buy two at once, we are free of the worry of running out for half a year.
BULK! I love it. Besides, if the coronavirus keeps spreading, won't you be glad that you've got enough food to not have to go into the crowded masses to stock up? Better get that industrial sized bottle of hand sanitizers and bleach wipes too, and now you can justify that trip to Costco.
Looking for other soup recipes? Try German leek soup, vegetable soup, and blender tomato soup.