Pizza Bisque aka Italian Onion Soup

Creamy tomato soup with a hint of roasted red pepper, delectable mushrooms, and more than a pizza’s worth of pepperoni.

This originated as a way to use up a bag of pepperonis in my freezer (are we seeing a trend here?). Serve topped with a toasted slice of pepperoni roll or garlic bread and a blend of mozzarella/parmesan cheese, ala French onion soup. I guess you could call this Italian onion soup…there are onions and quite a few cloves of garlic in there…

Yields about a gallon. Maybe more. Have company.

Ingredients
2 onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound of pepperoni, quartered
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced
3-4 bell peppers, roasted (see Step 1), then diced
2 cans of evaporated milk
1 can of V8
2 cans of diced tomato
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 32 oz carton chicken broth
1 32 oz carton beef broth
3T sugar
1t red pepper flakes
2T granulated garlic
2T granulated onion
3T dried Italian herbs

1.    Roast peppers. Cut off the ends, remove the crap in the middle, and slice in half. Rub with canola or other high-heat oil. Place on foiled sheet skin-side-up and broil until skins are burnt and crispy (about 5 minutes). Remove from oven and throw into sandwich bag or scrunch the foil into a packet, whatever works. This will trap moisture in and help the skins to pop off. After allowing to cool for ten minutes or until you can pick them up, peel the skins off the peppers. Dice em. Dice up the un-roasted ends too—it’s just too much of a pain in my opinion to roast and peel those little bits.

2.    Add pepperoni, onion, and garlic to a large pot (seriously, my normal pot was too small). Stir over medium heat until pepperoni grease starts to render out. Mmm. Saute until onions are translucent.

3.    Add tomatoes, bell peppers, V8, broths, and dry spices. Stir well to combine.

4.    Ladle out about 4 cups into a food processor. Process until smooth and add back into the pot.

5.    Add mushrooms. Cover and let simmer until warmed through and mushrooms shrink. This can take as much or as little time as you like. No harm letting it cook for an hour or longer, if you want—but in the quick version, you only need about 15 minutes.

6.    When about ready to serve, crack open the evaporated milk and mix in. Let the soup get warm, but don’t let it simmer again, or the dairy will break. This doesn’t taste bad or anything, but it makes your soup look like someone sneezed ricotta cheese into it.

7.    Taste and adjust spices as desired.

8.    Ladle into oven-safe bowls. Top with a toasted slice of pepperoni roll or garlic bread, then a layer of mozz and parm—broil like you would a bowl of French onion soup.