I think of this as a warming winter soup, which you might think strange, since red peppers are among the ingredients. But, here's why I think that. Since I started bopping about in various southern ex-Soviet republics, I've gotten quite used to seeing and eating marinated red peppers, and that's what I usually use for this recipe. Bottling, salting, marinating and other methods of preserving fruit and vegetables for the winter are popular throughout the region. Perhaps the most well-known are salted cucumbers - the perfect accompaniment to a night of vodka swigging - but, depending on where you are, you might also find salted or marinated tomatoes (both red and green), cabbage, young marrows, aubergines, mushrooms and a whole bunch of other things. Marinated red peppers are often referred to as 'Bulgarski', or 'Bulgarian', but in truth you'll find them anywhere the conditions are right for growing peppers. I've seen the same kind of recipe in Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and southern Russia. Individual recipes differ in the proportions of salt, vinegar and sugar and in the various combinations of herbs and spices which are added, but essentially the idea is to store red peppers for the winter in a state that is closest to their fresh sweet autumn ripeness.
And having said that, I hope it is clear that if you can't find marinated peppers, it is perfectly acceptable to use fresh ones in this recipe. After all, one of the reasons for the decline in home preserving of vegetables is that in many countries, what were previously considered seasonal fruits and vegetables are now available year round. So, if you can't find a jar of Bulgarski perets, but the local greengrocer's is heaving with fresh red peppers....
Here are the ingredients to make enough soup for 4-6 portions.
2 large sweet red peppers (or about 3 cups of chopped marinated peppers)
2 potatoes
A can of red beans
1 onion
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
3 teaspoons of tomato paste
A couple of pinches of dried thyme
A half teaspoon of ground red chilli/cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of coriander seed
A few crushed black peppercorns
1 or 2 veggie stock cubes or equivalent
A little salt
Olive oil
1.5 - 2 litres of water
Cut the peppers into very thin strips, then cut the strips into short lengths. Peel and finely chop the potato. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Drain and rinse the beans and squash them up a little with your hands.
Put water in a pot, throw in the peppers and potato and set it to boil. Fry the onion gently and when it just begins to turn golden, add the garlic, crushed coriander seeds and chilli. Cook for a few minutes more and add to the soup pan, which should be simmering away by this time.
Add the beans, stock cubes or powder, tomato paste and thyme to the pot and simmer for about fifteen or twenty minutes. A few minutes before the end of cooking time, taste the soup and add some salt if necessary.