We make this in the summer when peppers and tomatoes are in season. It freezes perfectly.

On the grill or in a 350°oven,  roast:

• 4 large, whole tomatoes
• 1 thick sliced onion, roasted or grilled
• 1 head garlic-cut in half, face down. Don’t remove the skin. Remove skin after it has cooked & softened in the oven.
• 6 sweet, roasted peppers-on the grill or in the oven,  ( If you’re using green bells add 1 Tb of sugar to replicate the sugars you’d find in red bells.)  Roast skin up for 4 minutes and turn over for 3 more minutes. Place in a bowl with a lid and allow the peppers to sweat for 15 minutes.  Remove the paper skin and seeds.

Additional ingredients:

• Toast 1 cup of nuts or seeds (pepitas, almonds, walnuts…)  A mixture or your favorites.
• 2 Tb. Balsamic vinegar

Once the veggies are prepared, toss everything listed above into a soup pot and add:

• ¾ cup of uncooked arborio rice
• 6 cups of chicken stock (homemade is best)

Cook on the stovetop, medium heat, for 20 -30 min. Keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally, so you don’t burn it.

Once the rice is tender,

• Taste for saltiness, add more if needed.  (this varies depending on the stock you’re using)
• ½ tsp black pepper

Use an immersion blender or food processor to  blend until smooth.

• Add 3/4 cup good quality olive oil and give it a quick whirl.  Never blend oils for too long; you can burn them and make them bitter.

Once you’ve blended the soup with the olive oil,

• Add 2 more Tbs of balsamic vinegar if you think it needs to be brighter in flavor.
• Taste again to see if it has enough salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or thick yogurt.  If you want a little extra heat try adding some minced hot pepper to the sour cream.

If you like more heat in the soup, add 1 roasted, seeded Anaheim pepper to the mix.