Squash and Parsnip Soup with Roasted Red Pepper

1. Start by roasting the red pepper. Turn your gas stove on medium heat and place the pepper directly over the open flame. Rotate it occasionally until you’ve blackened as much of the skin as you can.
2. Once it’s blackened, place it on a plate and turn a bowl upside down on top of it for at least 10 minutes to steam it and loosen the skin.
3. Peel the blackened skin off and discard it.
4. Clean and cut the pepper into chunks.
5. Heat a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the olive oil. Add the shallot and cook until translucent.
6. Add the vegetable stock, white wine, squash, and parsnip. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until vegetables are almost tender, about 15 minutes.
7. Add the roasted red pepper, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.
8. Add the half-and-half and transfer the whole she-bang to a countertop blender or use immersion blender. Blend it until almost smooth, but not quite.