Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Ricotta Dumplings

For day 5 of Soup Month 2013, we made a silky smooth Roasted Red Pepper Soup, seasoned with white wine, onions, carrots and thyme.  To make this soup even better, we topped the soup off with a few Ricotta Cheese and Chive Dumplings that were incredibly light and fluffy.

Since my daughter is allergic to tomatoes, tomato soup is something that we all miss, and this soup makes an extremely tasty substitute.  Everyone loved the soup and I'm sure we will be making it often in the future.  I imagine this would be amazing with a simple grilled cheese sandwich. Mmmm.  Well, that's for another day!

If I am correct in my vegetarian terms, this would be suitable for lacto-vegetarians by substituting the chicken broth with vegetable broth, and this makes an excellent meat-free dinner even if you are not following a vegetarian diet.

Cook time for this soup is only about 30 minutes, and the dumplings are super easy to make in about 5 minutes, with 10 minutes of cooking time.  The dumplings can be made while the soup is cooking, so this works great for a weeknight dinner.  This is a fantastic soup and I hope you enjoy it.

Red Pepper Soup
1 TB  Olive Oil
1 small  Onion, chopped
2  Carrots, peeled and chopped
1 TB  Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp  Dried Thyme
1 carton  College Inn White Wine and Herb Broth
2 cups  Chicken Broth  or  Water
1 - 24 oz jar  Roasted Red Peppers, drained
1 large  Russet Potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup  Dry White Wine
1 TB  Sugar
Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, carrots, garlic and thyme  and sauté until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the broths, peppers, potato, wine and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. 

While the soup simmers make the ricotta dumplings.

Ricotta and Chive Dumplings
8 oz  Ricotta Cheese
1/2 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp  Ground Black Pepper
1  Large Egg
1/4 cup  Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup  Flour
2 TB  Minced Fresh Chives

Bring 3 quarts of water to a simmer in a large open pot. (By using a wide pot you will be able to make all of the dumplings in one batch.)

Using a food processor, combine the ricotta, salt, pepper, egg, Parmesan and flour and process for 20 - 30 seconds.  Transfer the dumpling batter to a bowl and stir in the chives.

Drop the batter, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the hot water.  Simmer the dumplings for 10 minutes, then remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon, drain and place on a platter.  Keep warm until ready to add to the soup.

Now to Finish the Soup

Remove the soup pot from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.

Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and place 3 or 4 dumplings in the center of each bowl.  Serve with garlic bread and a dry Chianti wine.  Enjoy!!