daniel and i decided we would like to make roasted red pepper bisque. after doing copious amounts of bisque-research, he developed the following recipe, which was amazing. (err, here’s a link if the formatting of this post looks weird)

we made it just for the two of us and have had leftovers forever and it has been awesome. it is among the best soups i have ever consumed.

this recipe has three things to do: 
  -- make the rice 
  -- make the coulis 
  -- then combine them into the bisque 

you should prepare the rice and coulis simultaneously. when both are done, 
they can be combined to make the bisque. 


RICE 
---- 
1/4 cup short-grain rice 
4 cups veggie stock 
1 bouquet garni (thyme, sage and bay tied with string or in a cheesecloth bag) 

simmer rice in stock w/bouquet until v. soft. (~45 minutes to an hour) 
don't skimp on the cooking time -- the rice needs to be very well-done in order 
to puree smoothly. 

COULIS
------
3 cups roasted red peppers in oil 
2 large plum or roma tomatoes 
a large white onion 
a stalk of celery 
a carrot 
3 cloves of garlic 
dry vermouth (or other dry white wine) 

dice onion, celery, carrot, garlic together. add with a little oil to a 
quart saucepan, and saute until soft. add peppers, tomato, and a healthy splash 
of vermouth. simmer uncovered, stirring periodically, until rice is ready. 

BISQUE 
------ 
coulis & rice as above 
1 cup heavy cream 
4 tbs butter 
flour 

puree coulis and rice together, reserving the stock. discard the bouquet garni. 
melt the butter in the saucepan you used for the coulis, and
add enough flour to prepare a thick golden roux. 
(around 12 teaspoons, a teaspoon at a time) 
return puree to pan, and add reserved stock. 
bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat. stir in cream.
add salt & pepper to taste
 

serves 6 to 8ish 

here are some action shots:

they are only of me because i am eating leftovers, and extremely bad quality because i have no camera.