The Saffron Saga Continues

This is another recipe that should have been posted while I was in Durham but wasn't. As some of you know, I've been on somewhat of a saffron binge since I bought it for one recipe and haven't quite been able to get rid of it (and that shit is expensive).

Bell Pepper Soup
Adapted from Power Foods.

3 cups chicken broth
generous pinch of saffron
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 large bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp half-and-half or milk
salt
cayenne pepper
plain, low-fat yogurt (garnish)

Bring broth to a boil - and say it five times, fast. Add saffron (and really, be generous) and stir to dissolve. Turn off heat to let it steep.

Heat butter in a large saucepan. Cook onion and garlic in said pan, stirring frequently, until they're softened and starting to caramelize. Add celery and bell peppers. Cover and cook until everything has softened, about 20-25 minutes.

Add wine, stirring every so often until it's evaporated. Add broth, 1 tsp (or more) salt and cumin. Simmer and cook until vegetables are nearly falling apart, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. (I didn't do this thinking I could save myself a few minutes and definitely ended up with some pepper soup burns down my arms. Go read a book chapter or something before you move on. Unless you have an immersion blender in which case a) I hate you because I'm jealous and b) you may proceed immediately.) Puree soup (in the pot if you have the tools or) in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Return puree to saucepan, stir in half-and-half or milk, and reheat gently - if you let this boil it will curdle so, you know, watch it. Season with cayenne pepper. Sure immediately warm, or allow to cool in the refrigerator for 2+ hours and eat cold. Either way, garnish with yogurt (I used Greek).

Notes

• I'm not in love with this recipe. It turned out fairly bland and was more of an excuse for me to eat a bowlful of saltine crackers than it was anything else. Adding salt helped, but only because it made it saltier and salt is delicious. More saffron probably would have been better, but since I used more in this recipe than I have in any other, I thought it'd be safe. Not so.
• I preferred this warm, but I'm also not a fan of cold soups in general, so you serve it as you see fit. Also, as it's at least 30 F warmer in El Paso than it was in Durham, I might have felt differently had I made it here.
• As should be fairly obvious, I used orange bell peppers. The original recipe calls for yellow but as was the case more often than not, the ingredients I was supposed to use looked rather pathetic at the market.

Cost

• As will be the case for all of my leftover Durham recipes, I have no idea how much this cost. If you're trying to use up your saffron as I was, it's pretty cheap. I would not recommend going out and buying saffron just for this recipe though, unless you have some sort of intense bell pepper fetish.
• Health-wise, this soup is pretty great. Only 96 calories per serving (this makes 6) with under 2 g saturated fat (if you use the half-and-half) and 13 carbs.
• This took about an hour which could probably have been better spent. C'est la vie.