Roasted Red Pepper and Crab Soup

Although this is not a typical traditional holiday recipe, it has become a Christmas day buffet favorite in our family. Several years ago, we decided to forgo our traditional big sit-down dinner for a buffet because of everyone's increasingly different visiting/family obligations on that day. Everyone could eat whenever or if they chose to. I'd had this soup, which I loved, at several different restaurants over time. Through trial and error, I came up with my own recipe, which has been a hit. I serve it with a dollop of creme fraiche.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Calories: 352 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 quart half-and-half cream
• 1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth
• 1 pound cooked crabmeat, flaked
• 6 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into quarters
• 1 large potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Set the oven to broil, and preheat for 5 minutes.

Step 2

Place the red bell pepper quarters skin-side up on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Broil until the skins have blackened, then place them in a brown paper bag, or in a covered bowl and allow them to steam for approximately 10 minutes to loosen the skins.

Step 3

Once the skins have loosened, peel them off and discard. Coarsely chop the peeled, roasted peppers, and place into a large saucepan along with the chicken broth and chopped potato. Bring to a boil over high heat, then add the half-and-half, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and basil. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes.

Step 4

Once the potatoes have softened, puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into another saucepan and stir in the crab. Heat over medium heat to warm through, about 5 minutes.