Ontario Greenhouse Vegetables | Peppers

I recently went on a tour of an Ontario cucumber greenhouse, what a great experience. I learned many things about growing cucumbers in Ontario and enjoyed the company of many other Healthcare Food Service providers interested in Fresh and Local produce.

I wanted to share some of the interesting facts and a few great recipes with the Kitchen Heat readers, which I am going to break out over the next 3 weeks.

This week, we’re starting with GREENHOUSE PEPPERS!

Interesting Facts:

The Recipe:

Saffron Yellow Bell Pepper Soup

Ingredients

• 4 large Ontario greenhouse yellow bell peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded
• 1 tbsp (15 g) butter
• 1 white onion, diced
• ¼ cup (63 ml) vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 small jalapeno
• ¼ tsp (3 g) saffron threads
• 1 cup (250 ml) half and half cream
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat, then add garlic and onions.
2. Saute for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the stock, carrot, roasted Ontario greenhouse yellow bell peppers and jalapeno pepper. Crumble in saffron.
4. Bring stock to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
5. Puree in food processor until mixture is smooth. Strain, add cream and season to taste.
6. Serve immeiately with sprigs of cilantro.

Chef’s Trick

To obtain an even colour with saffron, soak the threads in hot liquid for 15 minutes before adding another ingredient.

serves 4

Nutritional Facts per serving (660 g): Calories 300 Fat 14 g (22 %), Saturated Fat 7 g + Trans Fat 0.2 g (36%), Cholesterol 35 mg, Sodium 580 mg (24 %), Carbohydrate 32 g (11 %), Fibre 3 g (12 %), Sugars 8 g, Protein 13 g, Vit A (30 %), Vit C (580 %), Calcium (10 %), Iron (15 %). % = % Daily Value

Source: ontariogreenhouse.com

 
Photo Credit: fensterbme via Compfight cc