Monday Yumday: Cream of Broccoli Soup

On a wintry January day, nothing satisfies like a rich and creamy bowl of warm soup. Yesterday, Olivia (our 4 y.o.) and I played in the kitchen together and chose to make my vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup. She used a serrated knife made for kids to rough-chop the veggies while I worked on the finer details. It was a “souper” fun way to spend time together in the kitchen on a chilly winter day!

Cream of Broccoli Soup
From “Veganize It!” in VegNews Magazine
by Allison Rivers Samson

Serves 6
1 cup raw cashews
2 quarts vegetable broth, divided
1 tablespoon coconut oil (unflavored)
1 cup onion, 1/4-inch diced
3 cups cauliflower, cut into large chunks
6 cups broccoli, separated into bite-sized florets and peeled stems cut into chunks
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. In a dry blender, grind cashews into a powder. Add 1 cup vegetable broth and blend until it makes a completely smooth cashew cream. (My new Blendtec handled the task beautifully!)

2. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat and add coconut oil. Sauté onion, cauliflower, broccoli stems, and marjoram for 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetable broth, cashew cream, and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat and cook until vegetables are very soft, approximately 20 minutes.

3. Using and immersion blender, or in small batches in a regular blender, blend soup base until completely smooth. Add broccoli florets and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until broccoli is tender. (Adding broccoli separately ensures a creamy, white soup base, rather than one that’s tinged green.) Add pepper to taste and serve hot.

Note: If broccoli isn’t your favorite soup ingredient, try something else! Carrots, potatoes, button mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus and corn all make excellent additions to this hearty soup. Or, use white cauliflower for the base and add orange (or “cheddar”) cauliflower as the finishing veggie.

P.S. Find more of my vegan recipes here. If you make any, we always love to see your photos, so we hope you’ll post to our Facebook and Twitter pages!