Stuffed Pepper Soup

In Dirk’s early vegetable years, he worked for Linda and Ron Ebert at LE Garden. Labor Day weekend was very hot (sound familiar?) and unhappily produced a terrible hailstorm. The damaged peppers were at their peak flavor and had to be used quickly. A huge batch of Stuffed Pepper Soup was one result. This version uses a more manageable amount of ingredients than the original 30 peppers and 5 pounds of ground beef from that Labor Day storm version.

Ingredients

 1 tbsp. olive oil

 1 lb. lean ground beef (or venison)

 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

 2 large green bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

 2 garlic cloves, minced

 1 tsp. kosher salt

 1/2 tsp. black pepper

 3/4 c. long-grain white rice or brown rice

 4 c. low-sodium beef broth

 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped and pureed or one 28-ounce can tomato puree or vegetable juice such as V-8.

 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, or 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes

 1 or more jalapeño peppers (or a few nadapeno peppers if you don’t like heat), chopped

 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

 1 tsp red wine vinegar

 ½-1 Tbsp brown sugar

 ¼ -½ tsp fish sauce

 Additional dried or fresh herbs or Italian seasoning to taste

 Chopped fresh parsley, for topping

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat and brown the meat. Drain the beef into a bowl using a colander or large sieve and return meat to pot, reserving juices. Chill the juices to separate the fat from the broth. The fat will solidify on the top making it easier to remove. To speed up this process, put the bowl in the freezer while the rest of the soup is made. Discard the fat portion and reserve the broth to add to the soup.

Sprinkle meat with the Italian seasoning, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon.

Add the onion, bell peppers, jalapeño or nadapeno peppers, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in the rice, then add the broth, tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine.

Bring the soup to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes for white rice or 45 minutes for brown rice.

Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, and fish sauce.

Taste and adjust seasonings. Add additional salt, pepper, dried or fresh herbs or Italian seasoning to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the parsley.

Sprinkle bowls with 1 1/2 c. grated pepper jack cheese (about 6 ounces total) or add a small dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream if you like.

Notes and Options:

Cooking the rice in the broth will thicken the soup. If it’s too thick for your tastes, add some broth or tomato juice. If you prefer, the rice may be cooked separately, adding ½ cup rice to each bowl just before serving.

Fresh tomatoes may be skinned if you don’t like the peels. Instead of fresh tomatoes, feel free to substitute 1 can of diced tomatoes with or without green chiles

Peeling tomatoes is accomplished by blanching - briefly immersing the tomatoes in boiling water for 30- 60 seconds, then quickly cooling them in a bowl of ice water. You can remove the stems before or after blanching. Slip a knife under the skin and remove the peel. If the peel doesn’t remove easily, blanch for a few more seconds. Making a small X on the end opposite the stem sometimes makes peeling easier.

Larger quantities of fresh herbs versus dried herbs, including thyme, oregano, basil will be required. Add extra seasoning a little at a time.

Red wine vinegar brightens this soup (and many other tomato-based dishes). A small amount of brown sugar balances the acidity. Don’t use too much or it will taste too sweet. The fish sauce won’t taste fishy in this small amount, but it adds depth to the soup. If you feel the soup needs more of any of these additions, go slowly, adding small amounts. You can always add more, but it’s impossible to reduce the amount once it’s been added.

This soup can be doubled and freezes well but will thicken. Add some broth or tomato or vegetable juice to thin the soup to your preference. The seasonings may need to be adjusted.