This potato soup has been approved by a two-year old. Just saying… The bell rang and I hurried home from work to play with my two-year old daughter Bella. Her latest and most favorite activity is to cook with mommy. For Christmas we managed to find a special toddler stand for her on which she can safely participate in kitchen activities. So after getting up from her nap today, we went straight to the kitchen to eat a snack, which consisted of sunflower seed butter on toast with some raspberries on the side. We eat and connect every afternoon. Then it was time to start working on supper. More of a working-mom kind of quick meal I should say. She watched in awe from a distance as the orange bell pepper was roasting over the flames. She tried to slice asparagus with her plastic knife without much success. Poor thing. Next, we blended the soup ingredients together, literally together. She had a blast pushing all the buttons on the blender. It was scary but fun! After the soup was done, she was allowed to sample it and she had a few spoonfuls. Then I knew, if Bella liked it, it was worth posting on this blog.

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 medium red potatoes, cooked (boiled) and unpeeled
2 tablespoons grape seed or coconut oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
1 small bunch of asparagus, sliced
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 teaspoon no-salt seasoning or preferred blend of herbs and spices
a couple dashes of smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
This soup can be done in 30 minutes if you can multitask. While the potatoes are boiling, roast the bell pepper over open flames on a gas stove, turning it every couple of minutes with a pair of tongs to roast all sides. Put the roasted bell pepper in a zip lock bag and set aside. Next, heat a little oil in a pot and sauté the onions until slightly brown and translucent. Season with salt and pepper, and dump the onions into the blender. Quickly sauté the sliced asparagus in the same pot for about 30 seconds, add salt and pepper, and spoon them out and set aside for later to use as a garnish.

By the time you finish cooking the onions and asparagus, the bell pepper will be ready to peel. Take it out of the bag and remove the burned skin by wiping it with some paper towel. Remove the seeds and rinse it. Check the potatoes to make sure they’re soft and cooked completely. Finally, blend the cooked potatoes, roasted bell pepper, onions, vegetable broth, and seasoning together until smooth. Pour the soup into the pot and add a couple of dashes of paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot and garnish with sliced asparagus.

You can roast bell peppers in the oven if you don’t have a gas stove. Click on How to Roast Bell Peppers to see other methods. I find the most practical way to roast bell peppers is to use my quick method described above.