Description
Although this is not a typical traditional holiday recipe, it has become a Christmas day buffet favorite in our family. Several years ago, we decided to forgo our traditional big sit-down dinner for a buffet because of everyone’s increasingly different visiting/family obligations on that day. Everyone could eat whenever or if they chose to. I’d had this soup, which I loved, at several different restaurants over time. Through trial and error, I came up with my own recipe, which has been a hit. I serve it with a dollop of creme fraiche.
Ingredients
- 6 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into quarters
- 1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth
- 1 large potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 quart half-and-half cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 pound cooked crabmeat, flaked
Instructions
- Set the oven to broil
- and preheat for 5 minutes.
- Place the red bell pepper quarters skin-side up on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Broil until the skins have blackened
- then place them in a brown paper bag
- or in a covered bowl and allow them to steam for approximately 10 minutes to loosen the skins.
- Once the skins have loosened
- peel them off and discard. Coarsely chop the peeled
- roasted peppers
- and place into a large saucepan along with the chicken broth and chopped potato. Bring to a boil over high heat
- then add the half-and-half
- salt
- cayenne pepper
- garlic powder
- and basil. Return to a boil
- then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Once the potatoes have softened
- puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into another saucepan and stir in the crab. Heat over medium heat to warm through
- about 5 minutes.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Servings: 6