Spicy Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

So I guess it had to happen eventually.  In my search for all wonderful spicy soup,s I managed to make one that was a tad too spicy.  Okay, maybe more than a tad.  Don't worry, I will fix my mistake in the recipe below, but let me warn you that if you are tempted to use the entire jalapeno instead of half (and are further tempted to be lazy and not get out all the seeds), you will probably regret it.

You will also regret it if you manage to drop one of the two pans of roasted vegetables.  Not only does this create a very large and steaming hot mess on your floor, but then you'll only have half the soup you were hoping to have!  Tragic!

The jalapeno and the roasted red pepper gives the soup a new dimension on tomato soup.  Don't get me wrong, I love "regular" tomato soup, but this one definitely has more complexity.  It only has a touch of cream too, so it ends up being quite healthy.  Not that I usually care about that sort of thing.  See Parmesan cheese topping, supra.

Tomato season is around the corner, especially if you live in California, so once you see some beauties show up at the market, give this recipe a run.  Since you are roasting the tomatoes you don't need to wait until you have the ripest tomatoes of full summer, but you want them to be decent and not mealy like the ones you get at Subway year round (ugh such a pet peve when you get gray tomatoes in the middle of summer).

Spicy Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
Adapted from Steamy Kitchen

5 large tomatoes, cut into 3/4 inch slices
1 onion, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 jalapeno (cut in half lengthwise), seeds removed
2 red bell peppers, cut into quarters
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (plus more for garnish)
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange vegetables on one or two large baking sheets, brush with olive oil and roast for twenty minutes until beginning to brown.

If using an immersion blender roughly chop the cooked vegetables and place them in a deep pot with the rest of the ingredients.  Blend until smooth and heat until warmed through.  Serve with plenty of Parmesan cheese on top and crusty bread.

If using a regular blender, roughly chop cooked vegetables and place in blender with all of the ingredients (if they fit in your blender).  Blend until smooth and then heat on the stove.