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Soup season is in full effect

My mom has a great broccoli cheddar soup recipe, but it has a lot of cheese and dairy in it and my stomach just can't handle that anymore. Then I remembered that the blog Hot For Food does vegan queso with potatoes and carrots as the "cheddar" and thought: maybe I can make a hybrid? Luckily, it turned out delicious!

There are a few things that are optional in this recipe, like the Daiya cheese. It does make it a bit cheesier, but you can eliminate it and it's just as tasty. Also, this soup freezes well, especially since there isn't any dairy in it, so stash some away for the next rainy day.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large heads of broccoli with the stems (or frozen stems and a large head of broccoli)
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 1 large Yukon potato, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 pieces of celery, peeled and chopped
  • 7 cups of vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 cup non-dairy milk

  • ½ cup cashews

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast

  • ½ cup Daiya (or non-dairy) cheddar shreds, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Chop the florets off of the broccoli, and trim away any leaves. Cut the ends off of the stems and discard, then roughly chop the rest of the stem and set aside.
  2. Take the heads off the broccoli and cut into small bite-sized florets. In a small pot, steam the broccoli until it is just cooked—too long and it won't hold up in the soup.
  3. In a large, heavy-bottom pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
  4. Add in the onions, cooking for a few minutes, then the garlic for an additional minute.
  5. Next add in the carrots, potato, celery and broccoli stems. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Stir and sauté for a minute and then add 7 cups of the vegetable broth and bring to a low boil for 10 minutes.
  6. In a blender, add the non-dairy milk, cashews, nutritional yeast and oregano and blend until creamy.
  7. Working in batches, add in the broth and vegetable mixture from the pot until everything has been puréed. You can add a few florets of broccoli at this stage as well. Return to the pot when finished blending. If the soup is too thick, you can add a little more broth/water/non-dairy milk to thin it out.
  8. You can now add in the broccoli florets that you have steamed and the non-dairy cheese if you're using it.
  9. Heat the broccoli through and it's ready to serve. Season with a bit of fresh pepper and enjoy!

Makes approximately 6 to 8 servings