Tomato Peanut Curry Soup aka How NOT to Use Your Blender

Anyone who has a Vitamix, or other blender that they use regularly, knows that you don't blend hot soup or liquid. Why you ask? Because explosions occur. Cooling off the substance to be blended is key. Leaving the lid partially off the blender and covering that bit with a tea towel would work but did I listen to my own advice? No, of course not. Due to this, I created a curry covered cupboard. Lovely. Luckily, it cleaned up quickly. I also managed to cover myself in it. Thankfully, it wasn't so hot it burned. Whoops.

Anywho, this is delicious. I had a Tomato Peanut Curry Soup at a restaurant in Lincoln called Bread and Cup just before we moved. My mom watched the boys for a couple of hours and Patrick and I went on a lunch date for our anniversary! It was lovely, and so was the soup. I wanted to recreate something like it. Their version was definitely better but maybe it was just because I didn't end up wearing that particular meal... question mark? I highly recommend that you visit that restaurant if you are in the area. It is owned by a local couple who lived down the street from us and they source everything they can at the Farmer's Markets. The menu changes with the season and it was quite good. They didn't have many vegan options. Everything was very meat and egg heavy but vegan isn't their goal and with a little scouring of the menu I was able to find a plantcentric meal.

Yes that is a plastic spoon. Don't judge. The moving truck with the other half of our belongings has not yet arrived.

Tomato Peanut Curry Soup

(Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt

1 15 -ounce can fire roasted tomatoes

3 T tomato paste
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter (I used my homemade variety because it was what I had)
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts, for topping

Directions

Chop veggies into similar size pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery; cook, stirring, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, spices and 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) and cook, stirring, 3 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, brown sugar and 1 cup water to the pot, then stir in peanut butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on med low. Stir occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly, about 20-30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender (ideally) or in a regular blender in batches. If using a regular blender make sure that the soup is very cool. Trust me on this one. Season with salt and black pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls; top with cilantro and peanuts. 

Can I just say....

"Yay for soup!"?

And...

Thank you to Betsy and Pam for the use of some odds and ends kitchen equipment while I await the arrival of my own. The cutting board, knife, and pot/lid were integral in this meal. :)