Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 15 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
• 12 oz jar roasted red peppers
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme
• Freshly cracked Pepper
• 1 cup whole milk, optional

Directions

1. Chop the onion into dice and finely mince the garlic. Put them in a large soup pot with the butter, then cook over a medium flame, stirring now and then, until the onion looks soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Sprinkle in the flour and keep stirring as it cooks for 1-2 minutes. It will turn into a thick paste with the butter and onions and may start clinging to the bottom of the pot. When the bits on the pot begin to look lightly golden, take the pot off the heat.
3. Transfer the crushed tomatoes, including their juices, to a food processor or blender. Add the roasted red peppers, leaving their juices behind, along with the flour mixture from the pot, and puree until smooth. Pour everything back into the soup pot.
4. Stir in the vegetable broth, basil, thyme, and freshly cracked pepper, using 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill. Set the pot over a medium flame and cook while stirring until it reaches a simmer. As you stir, scrape the bottom with the spoon so any stuck-on flour loosens into the soup.
5. When the soup starts to simmer, shut off the heat. Stir in the milk, if you’re using it, until combined. Taste, then season with salt if it needs it; how much you need will depend on the broth.