Red Pepper & Ginger Soup

I have been making a version of this soup since I was about thirty years old. I first put it together one very cold day – these seemed to be the exact flavours I wanted to taste then – and I’ve been making variations ever since. Use a rich chicken stock here, or, if you are vegetarian, a rich vegetable stock that includes the liquid that comes from soaking dried shiitake mushrooms. (The mushrooms may be saved for another dish.)

You may serve this at an elegant dinner party as a firs