Winter has set in across Canada. That means there’s nothing quite as welcome on a cold day than a pot of soup on the stove. For those of you who are avoiding dairy, this recipe makes a thick and luscious cream of mushroom soup. Using our cashew pieces is a cost-effective way to replace the taste and texture that is traditionally found in cream soups. And the crispy garlic slices in the thyme oil add a little something extra to soup. 
Vegan Cream of Mushroom 
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 500 g mushrooms sliced to 1/4 inch
  • 1 large onion diced small
  • 4 garlic cloves sliced thin
  • 1 medium carrot diced small
  • 2 stalks celery diced small
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt divided (to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper divided (to taste)
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 3/4 cup raw cashew pieces
  • 1 tablespoon miso
  • 6 cups of vegetable stock (you can use a "Better than Bouillon" type vegetable stock at 1/2 tablespoon per cup of water)
Garlic oil garnish
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves sliced thin
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves minced coarsely (or 1/2 tablespoon dry thyme). You can substitute rosemary or oregano
  • 1/4  teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Directions for Soup
  1. Pour olive oil (1/4 cup) into a large pot and turn heat on to medium.
  2. Add mushrooms and cook until nicely browned, stirring regularly (up to 30 minutes).
  3. Add half of salt (1/4 teaspoon) and half of pepper (1/8 teaspoon)
  4. When mushrooms are cooked remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave remaining oil in the pot.
  5. Add carrot (1 medium), celery (2 stalks) and onion (1 large) to pot with leftover oil and cook for 6-8 minutes until vegetables begin to sweat. Add remaining salt (1/4 teaspoon) and pepper (1/8 teaspoon)
  6. Add garlic (4 cloves sliced) and cook for another 2 minutes.
  7. Add wine (1/3 cup) and cook until incorporated and mostly evaporated. Deglaze any mushroom or vegetable bits at the bottom of the pot.
  8. Add 6 cups of vegetable stock, return mushrooms to the pot and bring to a boil.
  9. Ladle 2 cups of stock with mushrooms, liquid and vegetables into a blender. Add cashew pieces and miso to blender and blend until you have a smooth texture.
  10. Return blended cashew and stock mixture to pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
Directions for Garlic Oil garnish
  1. Add olive oil (3 tablespoons) to a small pot and turn heat to medium.
  2. Add thyme (1 tablespoon), salt (1/2 teaspoon) and pepper (1/4 teaspoon) to oil.
  3. Add garlic (3 cloves) to oil.
  4. Stir constantly until garlic slices just start to brown and crisp. Once it starts pour the mixture into a small bowl immediately. The heat from the oil will finish cooking the garlic.
  5. Serve the soup with the garnish immediately if you wish to maintain the crispy texture of the garlic.
  6. Drizzle some of the oil over the soup and sprinkle some parsley on the surface to garnish if desired.