Recipe - Green Pepper-And-Tomato Soup

2 lg Garlic cloves; peeled
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Chopped basil
2 tablespoon Chopped parsley
One fourth teaspoon Dried thyme
2 teaspoon Sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
2 tablespoon Fruity olive oil
2 Bay leaves
1 lg Onion; cut in 6ths
and cut or sliced up thinly crosswise
1 pn Saffron threads (generous)
2 pound Ripe tomatoes; peeled,
seeded and chopped,
juice reserved
2 md Green bell peppers
chopped into small squares
6 cup Water
1/3 cup White rice
Freshly ground pepper
Chopped basil; for garnish
=OR= Chopped Parsley
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

POUND THE GARLIC in a mortar with 1 teaspoon salt. Pound garlic until is
has broken down to a paste, then gradually work in the basil, parsley,
thyme, paprika and tomato paste. Warm the oil in a soup pot, add the
garlicherb paste and mix together. As soon as the oil is hot, add the bay
leaves and the onion. Sprinkle the saffron directly over the onion, stir
everything together and cook for 10 minutes or until the onion has
softened. Add the pepper, tomatoes, their juice and the water to the pot.
Bring to a boil then immediately lower the heat and cook for 25 minutes at
a simmer. While the soup is cooking, bring 1 One half cups of water to a boil;
add a dash to salt and the rice. Boil until the rice is tender, about
12to15 minutes, then drain. Stir the rice into the finished soup, season
with pepper. Serve the soup garnished with the fresh herbs and cheese.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini