first soup of fall - roasted apple, red pepper and tomato

Yesterday dawned windy and sunny but with a chill in the air. After the heat wave for most of the previous week, it felt like fall had finally arrived with the first days of September. I went to the farmer's market in the morning and bought a couple of things that I thought I would use - apples, peaches, red peppers and some big tomatoes. I had no specific plans, but later on I knew exactly what I wanted to make for dinner - soup.

After a little Googling, I found this recipe, which happened to use most of the things I had bought earlier. It seemed like a match made in heaven. I wasn't sure exactly how it would turn out, especially since I made some changes to the recipe. In the end, it was exactly what I wanted. Mine had a thick-ish consistency, almost like home made tomato sauce. But it was sweet and smokey and hearty and it was perfect for eating a big bowlful out on the porch with Liz.

Roasted Apple, Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Adapted from here

The original recipe called for a blender, I adapted it a little and opted for using my immersion blender. As such the original recipe called for much less chopping of the veggies, since I was immersion blending I cut them up smaller but still big enough for successful roasting.

1 large-ish apple, cored and roughly chopped (I used a Granny Smith apple, but any other tart apple, or cooking apple would work as well)
2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 largish tomatoes, roughly chopped (around 4 cups)
1 14.5 oz can of Veggie Broth*
1 tablespoon of sugar
Salt and Black Pepper - to taste
1/4 cup Heavy Cream (optional)

1. Pre-heat the over to 400°F. Place the apples, red peppers, onion and garlic on a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil, a pinch of salt and some black pepper and place in the oven for about 15 minutes. Turn them once, take them out once they've roasted up nice and evenly.

2. Transfer roasted veggies to a large stock-pot. Add the veggie broth and tomatoes. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, put the lid on and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth or slightly chunky. (Mine still had a few way-ward tomato and apple chunks). Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Stir in heavy cream, if using.

* If you find yourself short any kind of stock - veggie or otherwise - as I did the second time I made this, I can also report that 1 cup of water works as a substitute in a pinch.