Tips For Fixing Too Bitter Soups

[monavano]

I made a roasted beet and bell pepper soup for tonight. I had roasted gorgeous multi-colored beets about 2 days ago, and long story short, I just wrapped them in tin foil and refrigerated them (got sidetracked on making dinner). So, today , I'm looking through my new Martha mag and see a recipe for this soup. I sauteed a couple of red and orange bell peppers (evoo, shallots, s&p), added the peeled and rough chopped roasted beets, chicken stock and let them simmer for 20 min. Blended. Consistency-great. Taste-a bit bitter, actually. I then added lemon juice, as the recipe called for, and the acidity cut the bitter a bit quite a bit.

The recipe calls for garnishing with chevre. I've got Greek yogurt, so I'll be using that. I'm wondering first, did the bitter come from the bell pepper skin? It's an aftertaste that I did not anticipate. Is there anything you would add to cut it a bit more? Right now, I plan to serve it-no problem. But, I would like it if I could get to the beet and sweet pepper taste without the bitter.

Thanks!

eta: and while I'm at it....this happens when I make asparagus soup, too.

[zoramargolis]

I made a roasted beet and bell pepper soup for tonight. I had roasted gorgeous multi-colored beets about 2 days ago, and long story short, I just wrapped them in tin foil and refrigerated them (got sidetracked on making dinner). So, today , I'm looking through my new Martha mag and see a recipe for this soup. I sauteed a couple of red and orange bell peppers (evoo, shallots, s&p), added the peeled and rough chopped roasted beets, chicken stock and let them simmer for 20 min. Blended. Consistency-great. Taste-a bit bitter, actually. I then added lemon juice, as the recipe called for, and the acidity cut the bitter a bit quite a bit.

The recipe calls for garnishing with chevre. I've got Greek yogurt, so I'll be using that. I'm wondering first, did the bitter come from the bell pepper skin? It's an aftertaste that I did not anticipate. Is there anything you would add to cut it a bit more? Right now, I plan to serve it-no problem. But, I would like it if I could get to the beet and sweet pepper taste without the bitter.

Thanks!

eta: and while I'm at it....this happens when I make asparagus soup, too.

I would definitely roast and peel peppers before adding to the soup. Did you taste your olive oil? A year and a half ago, I got a bottle of Spanish oil that ruined acouple of dishes before I tasted the oil and found it horribly bitter. Sometimes you can rescue a dish that's a little bit bitter by adding some honey.

[monavano]

I would definitely roast and peel peppers before adding to the soup. Did you taste your olive oil? A year and a half ago, I got a bottle of Spanish oil that ruined acouple of dishes before I tasted the oil and found it horribly bitter. Sometimes you can rescue a dish that's a little bit bitter by adding some honey.

Thanks, Zora. The soup mellowed a bit with the lemon, but I will add honey today prior to eating. My evoo is a large bottle from Costco-so, it's been around for a while, not terribly long. Perhaps better to buy smaller bottles to keep the evoo fresher.