This bell pepper cream with basil croutons is one of the oldest recipes from my recipe notebook, a recipe I used to make very often years ago when I didn’t use the web to search for recipes and frequently repeated those found in my notebook.
After the birth of my children, I put this recipe aside for a few years because I had lost the habit of using bell peppers (you already know why, right? 😀)… Yes, bell peppers weren’t my children’s favorite, but it’s understandable that kids might not like bell peppers. However, now they are growing up, and for some time my daughter has started eating them, so I decided to dig out my little notebook to find this recipe.
And I’m glad I did because everyone liked it, including Fabrizio! 😮😀
Despite bell peppers having a strong flavor for children’s taste, especially when raw, I assure you this soup is really pleasant and delicate, and the basil-flavored croutons add that extra touch that truly enriches vegetable creams.
Today I used bell peppers of different colors (two red, one yellow, and one half yellow, half green), which is why the cream turned out orange. I assure you that what you see in the photo is indeed a bell pepper cream, not carrot or pumpkin! 😃 You can try it with just one color of bell pepper and then decide how you prefer it… because the eyes also want their part, as people always say! 🤩
➖ ➖ ➖
Other creams that kids will surely enjoy: 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 4 bell peppers
- 1 potato (large)
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- bread (2 slices per person)
- extra virgin olive oil (a drizzle in each bowl)
- basil
Tools
- Pot
- Lid
- Immersion Blender
- Pan
How to Make Bell Pepper Cream with Basil Croutons
Wash and cut the bell peppers into pieces.
Peel and cut the potato into pieces.
👉 For a thicker cream, you can use two potatoes.
Cook the bell peppers, potato, and onion in vegetable broth, or simply in water.
Let it simmer gently, over low heat and covered, for 30-35 minutes.
Remove from heat, add a peeled and germ-free garlic clove, some basil leaves, and blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth and free of lumps.
Put back on the heat for about 30 more minutes, this time uncovered.
Prepare the croutons:
Cut the bread into squares (sandwich bread is also fine) and toast it in a non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil and some chopped basil leaves, optionally a pinch of oregano or thyme.Serve the bell pepper cream with basil croutons hot or warm, not boiling, adding a drizzle of oil directly into the bowls.
Update of 7-2-18
I re-photographed this recipe and I’m adding the new photo below.This time I made a small variation, I flavored the croutons with parsley instead of basil, so I couldn’t use this photo as the cover photo since the recipe calls for basil. But it’s a nice photo, isn’t it? 😊
Of course… you can flavor the croutons however you like. 😉
Salt-Free Tips
If you’ve been reading me for a while, you already know that I cook without salt. You also know that brothy soups and, in general, all cooking in unsalted water requires a certain palate adjustment, or a little help to enhance the flavor. If you find it difficult to eliminate salt from soup, minestrone, or other similar dishes, don’t worry… it’s normal. 😊 In these cases, I suggest adding a pinch of salt directly to the finished dish rather than using bouillon cubes, which are always discouraged in a low-sodium diet.
I also refer you to read my two recipes dedicated to homemade vegetable granules: the salt-free vegetable granules and the vegetable granules with salt (useful because you can salt it as you like, gradually reducing the salt content to slowly accustom the palate to perceive the true taste of foods).
If you haven’t read it yet, you might find my article Cooking Without Salt useful, where I explain how and why I started cooking with low sodium.
If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▪ Reduce salt gradually, the palate needs to slowly get used to it without noticing the progressive reduction.
▪ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▪ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▪ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▪ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▪ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
▪ Prefer fresh foods.
▪ Avoid boiling methods, prefer cooking that doesn’t lose flavors (grilling, en papillote, steaming, microwave)
▪ Avoid placing the salt shaker on the table!
▪ Sometimes allow yourself to break the rule. It’s good for morale and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want to, or cannot, give up salt:
▪ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
Follow Me!
On the WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page, in Pinterest, in my two groups: Catia’s Group, in the Kitchen and Beyond and Just What I Was Looking For! and if you like… subscribe to my Newsletter
On the WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page, in Pinterest, in my two groups: Catia’s Group, in the Kitchen and Beyond and Just What I Was Looking For! and if you like… subscribe to my Newsletter
