Red Pepper Soup for P90x Phase I
- Carbohydrate 8.56130083349549 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.382899583352176 g
- Fiber 2.35386245021667 g
- Protein 1.79769291668977 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0495941250069234 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (151g)
- Sodium 301.276083333473 mg
- Sugar 6.20743838327882 g
- Trans Fat 0.206422166674376 g
- Calories 49 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat wine in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, red peppers, and celery. Cook and stir for 3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes, adding more wine if necessary.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and broth; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Puree soup in a food processor or blender. Return to the pan, add seasoning, and heat through.
- If desired, add protein powder just before serving.
Operating without a standard fat base requires substituting liquid medium for initial sweating, utilizing two cups of white wine to soften onions and celery over medium heat without scorching. Alcohol boils off at 173 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving behind water-soluble flavor compounds that bind directly to vegetable aromatics. Simmering the chopped plum tomatoes, tomato paste, and low sodium chicken broth for twenty-five minutes breaks down pectin walls in the celery and tomatoes, releasing natural starches to thicken the liquid before it reaches the blade.
Assessing doneness relies on visual and textural cues rather than internal temperature probes. Celery pieces must yield completely to the back of a spoon with zero structural resistance, ensuring the fibrous strands will shatter smoothly during processing. Raw garlic cooks for precisely two minutes to eliminate acrid sulfur compounds while retaining volatile allicin oils, preventing a harsh bite in the finished broth.
Using preserved roasted red peppers instead of raw specimens introduces pre-charred sugars and concentrated glutamates that drastically shorten cooking times while boosting savory depth. Fresh red peppers contain roughly ninety-two percent water and require roasting and skinning to achieve the same silky emulsion. Swapping preserved peppers for fresh adds twenty minutes of prep work and alters the final sugar-to-acid ratio, requiring adjustment to the tomato paste quantity.
Pureeing the hot mixture demands caution because steam expands rapidly inside sealed containers. Filling a blender halfway and removing the center feed cap with a folded towel over the opening lets thermal pressure vent safely. Blending for sixty seconds at high speed creates micro-emulsified droplets that coat the tongue evenly, maximizing the perception of the ground white pepper and dried thyme.
