Elegant Soup Recipes For Appealing Appetizers

Wholesome hearty soups make great lunches or supper recipes but when you want to impress your guests with a fancy appetizer, elegant soup recipes are the way to go. Soup comes in all different varieties and homemade soup boasts a fresh and natural flavor that you just cannot achieve with canned soup or soup from a packet. If you want to serve an elegant soup recipe to your guests, you have a lot of options.

First of all, you should decide whether you want to serve a hot soup or a chilled one. If you fancy making a chilled soup, you might like to make a fruit soup recipe, using cherries, strawberries or melon perhaps. With a hot soup, you might like to use beef, lamb, and chicken or even fish as your main flavor.

Whether you decide on a chilled soup recipe or a hot one, soup is a great appetizer because you can make it in advance. Chilled soups need to chill in the refrigerator for a few hours and most hot ones can be made in advance and warmed up when your guests are ready to eat. A lot of hot soups are actually nicer when you make them in advance then warm them back up.

Recipe for Roasted Bell Pepper Soup

This delightful soup recipe can be served either hot or cold. Serve it garnished with some homemade herb croutons and the orange color of this soup will immediately inspire your guests' appetites. The wonderful aroma and delicious taste will take care of the rest.

This tasty and easy soup recipe will serve six people as an appetizer. If you want to serve it chilled, make it four hours in advance and chill it well.

What you will need:

4 red bell peppers 3 cups chicken stock 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 diced yellow onion 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 finely chopped clove garlic Handful homemade croutons, to garnish 1/4 cup finely chopped orange bell pepper, to garnish Salt and black pepper, to taste
How to make it:

Cut the bell peppers in half and take out the seeds, stem and membranes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Rub half the oil over the base of a roasting pan and put the bell peppers cut side down in it. Roast them until the skin is blackening and starting to blister. This will take about 40 minutes.

Put the peppers in a bowl and cover it with a plate. Let them cool for 20 minutes. Add the rest of the olive oil to a pan and saute the onions for a few minutes over a moderate to high heat. Add the red pepper flakes, thyme and garlic and saute for a couple more minutes.

Add the stock and bring the soup to a simmer. Take the skin off the roasted peppers and discard it. Add the peppers to the stock and stir. Puree the soup in batches in a blender, and then return it to the pan.

Keep simmering it for 18 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with the croutons and finely chopped orange bell pepper. Alternatively, chill it in the refrigerator and serve cold with the chilled bell pepper pieces and warm croutons sprinkled on top.