I think once all the ingredients are prepped – peppers drained and sliced, chicken boned and shredded, etc. – from that point on, it's probably about seven minutes. I also made rice specifically for this soup, so that took some time, but since the recipe only calls for half a cup, leftover rice would be a perfect solution.
I didn't shop around for piquillo peppers, but used a jar of roasted red bell peppers instead. I also used brown rice instead of white; store-bought broth instead of stock; and I omitted the black pepper.
Pepper is a huge turn-off for my kids lately, so for most things, we just add pepper to taste at the table. In the end, however, I didn't even add pepper to mine – it didn't need it. Same with the hot sauce, which is suggested for serving. I did, however, top the soup with red pepper strips, olive oil, and chopped parsley. While the red pepper is mostly for color (there's already plenty blended into the soup itself), the parsley and extra virgin olive oil added wonderful flavor that I wouldn't want to go without.
If you're needing a truly fast week-night dinner, prep your ingredients in advance, then start blending and cooking just seven minutes before serving time. Here's the recipe from Food & Wine: Creamy Piquillo Pepper and Chickpea Soup with Chicken.
