Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Seared Scallops

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   * fast FAST
   * make ahead MAKE-AHEAD

ACTIVE TIME: 30 MIN TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 20 MIN SERVES: 6 Langbein loves oven-roasted peppers. Here she transforms them into a silky soup seasoned with cumin, crushed red pepper and cilantro, and finished with seared, sweet scallops. ingredients

   * 4 large red bell peppers (2 1/4 pounds), stems removed
   * 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
   * 2 garlic cloves, minced
   * 1 medium onion, finely chopped
   * 1 teaspoon ground cumin
   * 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
   * 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
   * 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
   * 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
   * 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
   * Salt and freshly ground pepper
   * 6 sea scallops

directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Put the peppers on a cookie sheet, stemmed side down, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the skins are black. When they're cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skins, cores and seeds. Finely dice 2 of the peppers.
  2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, cumin and crushed red pepper and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 10 minutes. Add the whole roasted peppers and the chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the orange juice, orange zest and cilantro.
  3. In a blender, puree the soup in batches. Return the soup to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper; keep hot.
  4. In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add the scallops to the skillet and cook over high heat until richly browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the scallops and cook on the second side for 1 minute. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the scallops and diced peppers and serve.

WINE Millton, one of Langbein's favorite wineries and among the first organic vineyards in New Zealand, produces the creamy 2005 Te Arai Chenin Blanc—rich enough for the scallops in Langbein's soup, but zesty enough for the peppers, too. Or try an equally aromatic wine like the 2005 Lawson's Dry Hills Gewürztraminer.