Cream of yellow pepper soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 onion(s)
• 2 carrots
• 1 stalk(s) celery
• olive oil
• 8 bell peppers, ripe, yellow (not greenish! Otherwise the puree will be bitter)
• 4 potatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup milk or cream
• Water
• Parmesan, freshly grated
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Finely chop the onion, celery, and carrots and sauté in olive oil in a large, wide pot until dark golden brown. Then wash the bell peppers, thoroughly deseed them, and slice them into strips. Peel and roughly dice the potatoes. Add the bell pepper strips and diced potatoes to the pot and sauté. Then add water until the vegetables are just covered. Add the bay leaves, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Then remove the bay leaves and blend everything with a hand blender. Add the warmed milk (or cream) a little at a time, as needed, until a creamy mixture of the desired consistency is reached. Transfer to a soup bowl, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and drizzle with a little good olive oil to create a “C.” Season to taste, if desired. This goes well with toasted Tuscan white bread.