Yellow Pepper & Almond Soup

I started regularly using ground almonds to thicken soups after making this delicious recipe from Peter Berley’s original version appearing in The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. The customary method of thickening soups with ground almond paste is Spanish…but I’m sure its roots go deep into North Africa where the Arabs and Sephardic Jews were known to use almonds in many ways.

In my version, I roast the almonds in the oven rather than frying them in oil as it might be done in Spain. I think the roasted flavor of almonds is more intense than fried almonds because the nuts toast

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I started regularly using ground almonds to thicken soups after making this delicious recipe from Peter Berley’s original version appearing in The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. The customary method of thickening soups with ground almond paste is Spanish…but I’m sure its roots go deep into North Africa where the Arabs and Sephardic Jews were known to use almonds in many ways.

In my version, I roast the almonds in the oven rather than frying them in oil as it might be done in Spain. I think the roasted flavor of almonds is more intense than fried almonds because the nuts toast evenly throughout instead of just the surface. The subsequent paste produces a wonderfully aromatic background roasted flavor that pairs exquisitely with the sweetness of the yellow sweet peppers.

I like serving this soup barely warmed – just a bit more than room temperature. It is also exceptionally delicious served iced cold.

Difficulty: simple
Yield: makes about 6-8 servings