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
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 80 g onion, chopped
- 2 red peppers, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 potato, medium (approx 200g) peeled, chopped
- 1 red chillies, sliced (deseed for milder taste)
- 750 ml chicken stock, (using 1 stock cube)
Instructions
- Heat oil in soup maker (or pan if your soup maker doesn't have a saute feature)
- Add chopped onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes
- Add the crushed garlic, chopped peppers and sliced chillies and stir to mix. Saute for a further 2 to 3 minutes
- Switch off the saute feature and add the chopped potato and chicken stock. Make sure the contents reach the Min line in the soup maker - if they don't, top up with more boiling water.
- Stir ingredients round and set on smooth program.
- Serve and enjoy 🙂
Dawn
Saturday 20th of March 2021
I’ve made this a few times now, it’s my new favourite soup! I love the kick of the chilli and it tastes extra good after a long dog walk in the rain. My soup maker doesn’t have a sauté function, so I’ve made this by just putting all the ingredients into the maker, and also have sautéed in a pan first as per the recipe. Sautéing gives a much richer flavour I think, so definitely worth that extra step (and washing up!) if you don’t have a sauté function om your soup maker.
Delish 🤤
Liam
Monday 11th of January 2021
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?
Liana Green
Tuesday 12th of January 2021
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!
Evelyn Beer
Saturday 4th of July 2020
Is it necessary to saute the ingredients first or can they go straight in the soup machine?
Liana Green
Sunday 5th of July 2020
Hi Evelyn - they can go straight in the soup maker if you prefer. Let me know how you get on!
Soupy
Saturday 11th of January 2020
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
Amanda
Thursday 9th of January 2020
Can this be cooked with vegetable stock instead of chicken stock?
Liana Green
Sunday 12th of January 2020
Hi Amanda - yes absolutely :)