Brush the bell peppers with oil and roast them under a broiler for 10 minutes on each side until their skin gets charred. If you don’t have a broiler, you can roast them by holding over medium flame using a tong.
Let the charred peppers cool down. Then peel of the charred black skin and chop them roughly.
In a small pan, heat the remaining oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the bay leaf.
Next add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Saute them until soft and golden brown.
Now add in the roasted and peeled peppers and saute on high heat for 5 minutes stirring continuously.
Add the vegetable stock (or water) and let it come to a rolling boil. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, take out the bay leaf and using a stick blender (also called hand blender), blend the soup until smooth. You can also transfer the soup to a jug blender for blending if you do not have a stick blender.
When the soup is pureed nicely, boil it for some time to thicken it a bit (I like thick soup! If you don’t, you can serve right away!)
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot with some crusty bread! Enjoy the winter!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2014/12/roasted-red-bell-pepper-soup/