I might have decided to share this recipe just to talk about a) how much I love roasted peppers and b) how terrible it is to roast your own peppers. I could eat roasted peppers every day if I could (like broccoli and peas). But buying them in a jar is not quite the same, and roasting your own isn’t easy. If you live in a house and have a grill on your deck, congratulations, you have your own pepper roasting center. However, if you live in a tiny apartment in a city, you must resort to roasting over the gas flame, with tongs apparently. I don’t even own tongs!!

So I figured out another way to handle vegetables over violet open flame. First I did it by holding the pepper with two forks over my stove top. (This is NOT kid-safe. Kid dumplings, close your eyes and un-read what I said!) But that’s not very efficient, though safe for most adults with average motor skills. So I just let them rest on the stove top grates directly. Wow, what a difference that makes. It cuts the roasting time by at least 80%, and your arm doesn’t feel like it’s about to fall off/catch fire. Afterwards all you need to do is clean up a bit over the grates, and since your peeling the charred part off anyway, it’s all good.

This is all great, except you will feel very sad putting those innocent peppers to death by fire. Try not to get too attached to them. I like to imagine that they did something really evil. Anything to make things easier.

So, the soup! It’s creamy, comforting, and delicious, the roasted pepper flavor blending beautifully with sweet-savory coconut milk. Topped with some tahini “cream,” it’s a bit like your favorite red pepper hummus and soup in one.

Roasting red peppers

Washing the peppers and dry them with a paper towel. Place 2 directly on the stove top grate. Turn on flame so that it’s barely touching the peppers. Keep a close eye on them, and turn them with a fork occasionally. When the skin is almost completely black and charred, remove from heat, place in a bowl and cover with a plate. Repeat until all peppers are done. Let them cool, then peel off the black parts with your hands. Get rid of the inner ribs and seeds. Now you’re ready to work!

Coconut Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Tahini Cream

1 tbsp coconut oil (or extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

4 peppers, roasted and peeled, then roughly sliced

1 tsp Better than Bouillon vegan paste (if not, substitute water with veggie stock)

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a thick-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add onions and saute for about 3 minutes.

2. Add garlic and the peppers, and stir for about a minute. Salt generously.

3. Add the water and the bouillon paste. Cover and bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add coconut milk, and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Take off heat and cool.

5. When it’s cooled a bit, blend using a blender or food processor until smooth. Garnish with tahini cream.

Tahini cream

4 tbsp raw tahini

4 tbsp water

squeeze of lemon juice

1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

salt and pepper

Whisk everything together until smooth and creamy. You may add 1-2 tbsp more water to adjust consistency.

Also in soups: Korean Dumpling Soup (Mandu Guk)

Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder

Comforting Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

Photo: Peaceful Dumpling