Cream of Mushroom Soup: Rich & Vegan for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

I have been thinking about Cream of Mushroom Soup lately but put off making it until the weather turned a bit cooler. Of course that was yesterday when it was gray and drizzly all day, and today is both warmer and sunnier, as is my usual timing. Still it sounded good and I had been wanting to make another vegan soup out of I Can Cook Vegan by Isa Chandra Moskowitz that I received as part of #AbramsDinner Party last year. 

Isa says, "This is a luxury for mushroom lovers. The kind of soup that tastes like you just returned from cooking classes abroad. But the truth is; garlic, white wine, and mushrooms are pure umami. If you'd like to get even fancier, substitute half (or all) of the creminis with oyster mushrooms or anything tickling your fancy at the farmers' market. All of the attitude of a culinary degree with none of the debt!"

Cream of Mushroom Soup

From I Can Cook Vegan by Isa Chandra Moskowitz 

(Serves 6)

 

1 medium yellow onion, chopped into medium diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tbso refined coconut oil

1 (10-oz) package cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used 1 lb cremini mushrooms)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup white wine

4 cups vegetable broth (I used porcini mushroom bouillon cubes)

1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews (soaked overnight if you don't have a high speed blender)

3 cups loosely packed baby arugula (I omitted & used parsley)

truffle oil for serving, optional

Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium hea. Saute the onion and garlic in the coconut oil with a pinch of salt, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute until softened, another 5 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup of the mushroom slices to use as garnish, if you like.

 

Stir in the thyme and pepper to taste. Add the white wine and use a spatula to deglaze the pan. Turn up the heat a bit and cook for 3 minutes to reduce the alcohol. Mix in the broth and turn off the heat. 

Place the cashews in a high-speed blender. Add everything from the mushroom pot and blend until completely smooth. The soup will be very hot, so turn off the blender and remove the lid every 10 seconds or so to let steam escape and to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

Return the soup to the pot over low heat to warm through and thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste for salt. Transfer to bowls and garnish each serving with the reserved mushrooms. Top with arugula and drizzle with truffle oil, if you've got it. Finish with the black pepper.

Notes/Results: Rich, velvety and delicious--full of umami flavor for sure. This is the kind of soup where a piece or two of bread, toasted or just soft is welcome for dipping. I do wish I had left more mushrooms out to and stir into the soup but otherwise, I am very happy with this one. I don't think anyone tasting it would realize that it's vegan too. I will happily make it again. 

Let's take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here:

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog and I were on the same mushroom wavelength this week and she made a French Creamy Mushroom Soup, saying "Looking for a thick and creamy mushroom soup? You can't go wrong with this flavorful French recipe. It is one of my favorites and yet one of the easiest to make. The rich mushroom flavor blends beautifully with the French herbs and freshly cracked pepper."

Thank you for joining me this wee, Judee!

 
(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week! Happy New Year!