Final Stage of soup below:
I don’t usually post soup recipes (because most soups don’t need a recipe), but I was especially pleased with something I discovered making this creamy vegan soup. It’s light yet richly flavored, and creamy (because of the soaked cashews). It has protein! It’s a good receptacle for any mildly flavored vegetable scraps you might have. You’ll need apple and/or white wine to add acid and verve.
I used 4 pounds of celery root (after peeling), 2 leeks, 1 bunch green onions and a few scraps of shallots, 3 Tbs avocado oil, 1/2 bunch parsley, 2 peeled and cored apples, 1 1/2 cups of leftover champagne, and 1 pound of raw cashews, soaked. Filtered water. White pepper, nutmeg, and salt.
Saute the leeks/onions in oil a few minutes, add the cubed celery root, then the apples and parsley or whatever vegetable scraps you want to use up (make sure they don’t have strong flavors–you want the celery root to shine), and the soaked (an hour, drain soaking water) cashews. Simmer with water or wine or a combination (at least 1 quart) and a teaspoon of salt for about 40 minutes, or until the celery root is soft. Add seasoning: about 2 tsp each ground white pepper and nutmeg, and 3 more tsp salt. Add the seasoning in stages BEFORE you blend, so there’s no grit. Add filtered water if it’s too thick. Keep tasting until it’s a bit spicy. If you correct the seasoning, do this in small amount of the soup in the blender, blend again, and then stir into the larger amount. It took me three tries to get the right amount of pepper, nutmeg, and salt.
I love the creamy color of the soup and the fresh taste. Don’t be tempted to use vegetable stock or garlic or anything that could overwhelm the celery root. You could garnish with some minced chives or parsley or lovage and a swirl of extra virgin olive or avocado oil.
Natasha Saje 