This morning felt decidedly autumnal. This combined with waking up with a rotten cold I felt the urge for a hot soothing soup. And when I say hot, I mean chilli hot.
Traditionally chillis have always been used as a medicinal plant for natural remedies. Chillies are really high in vitamin A and vitamin C, making them fantastic for your immune system. The heat of the chillies really help with clearing congestion – ah, I can now smell again 🙂 Capsaicin is responsible for giving chillies their heat – and it’s benefits aren’t reduced when cooked. Apparently most of the capsaicin is found in the membrane of the chilli (where the seeds connect to the flesh of the chilli) so try to include the whole chilli, with the exception of the green stalk.
IMPORTANT: I used 2 whole red chillies in this recipe and kept the seeds in too. If you want a milder taste leave the seeds out and only use ONE chilli – I LOVE spicy and hot food, but I don’t assume everyone else does too!
As always I made this recipe with my reliable Morphy Richards Soup Maker but you can of course make it in a saucepan on the hob and then blend it smooth.
Serves: 4
Calories (per serving): 130
Cost per serving: 51p (prices correct as at 6th October 2016)
Red Pepper & Chilli Soup
Ingredients
Instructions
Just made this – it’s really nice – thanks!
Although, you weren’t wrong about liking it hot! Phew! A bit too hot for me – I added some creme fraiche to cool it down a bit.. Next time I make it, I’ll need to reduce the amount of chilli.
Hi Andrea – thanks for your comment – yes it is very hot! I should probably put more warnings on the recipe about how hot it is 😉
Just made this soup OMG so divine I do like spicy food but reading the other reviews I only put in one chilli and it was still spicy will definite make again and tell my daughter to make it.
Hi Marie – I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the red pepper and chilli soup 🙂 And yes, it’s a spicy one for sure!
Can this be cooked with vegetable stock instead of chicken stock?
Hi Amanda – yes absolutely 🙂
Made this a couple of times and love it!! I use two cloves of garlic and two stock cubes to give extra flavour. I also use two chillis including seeds so suppose just depends on your spice levels. It’s so easy and cheap to make too
Is it necessary to saute the ingredients first or can they go straight in the soup machine?
Hi Evelyn – they can go straight in the soup maker if you prefer. Let me know how you get on!
Hi there, if I don’t have a soup maker and want it to be just a bit more blended how long would I wait before processing it?
Hi Liam – are you using a hand held blender (stick blender) to blend it or transferring all of it to a standalone blender/smoothie maker? The reason I ask is you should wait for the soup to cool down a little before blending it in a standalone blender as it will be too hot (but double check the manufacturer’s guidelines). If it’s a stick (small handheld blender) just give the cooked mixture a a few quick pulses with the blender, that should be enough to give you an ‘in between’ consistency between chunky and smooth.
I hope that makes sense – if I’ve completely misunderstood your question please do let me know!