[RECIPE] Vegan Creamy Cashew Nut Mushroom Soup

This Vegan Creamy Cashew Nut Mushroom Soup recipe will revolutionise your expectations about creamy, comforting soups!

Prepare for a bowl of pure bliss that’s rich, velvety, and bursting with umami flavour, all without a drop of dairy.

Ingredients

• 650g mixed cultivated mushrooms, including big browns, portabellos, portabellinis, buttons
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp white miso paste
• 1 tbsp fresh sage leaves, minced
• 4 cups vegetable or mushroom stock
• 80g raw cashew nuts
• 1 handful fresh sage leaves
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Olive oil, for cooking
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Cultivated mushrooms contribute a delightful combination of taste and texture that truly elevates this recipe, with a savoury and earthy flavour that provides a robust depth typically found in meat-based broths. When cooked, cultivated mushrooms soften considerably becoming tender, which contributes to the overall smooth and luxurious mouthfeel of the creamy soup.

Method

1. Roughly chop the different mushrooms.
2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot.
3. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown and their moisture has evaporated.
4. Scoop out a few golden-brown mushrooms for topping the soup when serving. Set aside.
5. Add onion and cook until softened.
6. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
7. Add vinegar and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Pour in the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
9. Stir in the miso paste and season with salt and pepper.
10. Simmer for 5 minutes for all the flavours to come together.
11. Place cashew nuts in the jug of a blender.
12. Scoop out half of the soup and add it to the blender.
13. Begin blending on very low speed and work up to high until the soup is completely smooth. Be careful when blending hot liquids – make sure you allow the steam to escape out the top of the jug.
14. Return the blended soup to the pot and stir to combine.
15. Taste to adjust seasoning.
16. Just before serving make some crispy sage leaves. Place the ¼ cup olive oil in a small saucepan. Heat until a test leaf sizzles immediately in the oil.
17. Fry a few sage leaves at a time until crisp, ± 10 seconds.
18. Transfer quickly with a fork, before they brown, to a tray lined with paper towel.
19. Sprinkle generously with salt.
20. Serve the soup scattered with a few reserved mushrooms, crispy sage leaves and a fresh crack of black pepper.

Recipe and images supplied by the South African Mushroom Farmers’ Assocaition (SAMFA)