Sweet Pepper and Carrot Soup

Sweet Pepper and Carrot Soup
Try this soup as an appetizer.

Melt 4 tbs olive oil in soup pot; sauté 1 cup chopped onion and 1/4 cup white rice for 5 minutes. Chop 2 bell peppers, one green and one red, and add to onion along with 2 cups chopped carrots. Stir over medium heat 10 minutes; add a grinding of black pepper, 2 tbsp each chopped parsley and dill. Add juice and zest from 1 orange and cover with 6 cups stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Cool, then puree.

-Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of From the Cook's Garden cookbook