Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add onion, celery and garlic. Sprinkle a little salt to speed up the cooking process. Stir and saute till onions are soft and translucent.
Now add roasted red peppers, smoked paprika, pepper, remaining salt and vegetable stock. Stir well to combine everything.
Let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Transfer the mixture into the blender and blend it until smooth. Be careful when blending hot stuff. Or you can use an immersion hand blender (in my opinion it does not make soup silky smooth).
Again bring it to a simmer on low heat, add heavy cream and mix.
Sprinkle gouda cheese and stir until melted. It is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
How to roast the red peppers (in the oven)?
Cut the red peppers into half, discard the stem and seeds.
Lay them in an aluminum foil lined baking tray cut-side down.
Keep it under the broiler for about 10 minutes or until the skin is blackened.
Remove and once it is cool to handle peel off the skin. Skin will come out very easily.