Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Turkey and Fingerling Potatoes

This is perhaps the best soup I have ever made.  My only regret was skipping the fresh basil.  It has a minestrone flavor, yet the feel of a chicken soup.  The organic fingerling potatoes really added pizazz.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs onions
• 1 lb shallots
• 3 lb red peppers
• 6 plum tomatoes
• 1 container of grape tomatoes
• 1 lb mixed fingerling potatoes
• 1 celery heart
• 1 large turnip
• 3 parsnips
• 1 bunch curly parsley
• 2/3 box of fresh oregano
• 5 -6 large basil leaves or 1 tbsp dried
• 3 Bay leaves
• 1 turkey breast, grilled or smoked (~ 3lbs) and chopped into soup-size chunks
• 2 lbs carrots
• 1 clove garlic, plus a few extra petals
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• 2 tbsp Fresh ground pepper
• Pepper
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 Sprig Rosemary

DIRECTIONS

1. Make vegetable purees (this can be done several days ahead of time)
   1. Onion
      1. Cut all but ½ pound into eigths, removing the skin
      2. Place on foil, and drizzle with olive oil
      3. Roast for 60-90 minutes on 350, or until dark brown and caramelized
   2. Shallots
      1. Quarter each shallot, removing the skin
      2. Place on foil and drizzle with olive oil
      3. Roast for 20 - 30 minutes on 350, or until dark brown and caramelized
   3. Red peppers
      1. Remove the seeds and top, and cut each pepper in half
      2. Place on foil and drizzle with olive oil
      3. Roast for 20 - 30 minutes on 350, or until the skin starts to blacken in some places
      4. After the peppers have cooled, remove the skin
   4. Tomatoes
      1. Quarter the plum tomatoes and remove the rough end
      2. Place on foil and drizzle with olive oil
      3. Roast for 20 - 30 minutes on 350, or until the tomatoes start to brown on the outside
   5. Garlic
      1. Remove garlic petals from the clove
      2. Place on foil and drizzle with olive oil
      3. Roast for 10 -20  on 350, or until the petals are squishy when lightly squeezed
      4. Remove the shell when the garlic has cooled
   6. Make purees
      1. Put Onions, garlic and shallots into the blender and puree
      2. Repeat with the tomatoes and peppers
      3. Add all olive oil from roasting, and a few drops of water if the blender has trouble pureeing
2. Make the stock
   1. Heat a 10 quart stock pot on high heat, ⅔ filled with water and a tsp of salt
   2. Process vegetables
      1. Peel 4 carrots and the parsnips.
      2. Chop turnip into chunks
      3. Remove onion peel from remaining onion and 3 petals of garlic
      4. Chop the top from the celery
   3. Add the vegetables from the prior step, along with the bay leaves, 2 tbsp olive oil, and bone from the turkey breast (if available) to the water
   4. Cook for about 30 minutes
      1. Remove the turnips first, when squishy
      2. Remove other vegetables as they become squishy
      3. Leave only the bay leaves
3. Process remaining vegetables
   1. Carrots: Peel and chop into coins
   2. Celery, Potatoes: Chop into soup-sized chunks
   3. Grape Tomatoes: Wash (wash everything else too!)
   4. Oregano: Remove leaves from the stem
   5. Parsley, Basil: Dice
   6. Rosemary: Remove from the stem
4. Cook soup on medium-high heat 
   1. Add all processed vegetables from step 3, except for ⅓ of the oregano and parsley
   2. Add Thyme
   3. As the soup reaches a boil, slowly add the purees and cook for about 5 minutes
   4. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the turkey, and allow soup to simmer for 20 - 30 minutes
   5. Add remaining herbs, and allow soup to cool slightly
   6. Add salt and pepper to taste, making sure to stir the soup well while tasting