Broccoli “Cheddar” Soup
for Environment 911 - “But Make It Vegan” Column
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 do that anymore. I remembered that Hot For Food does vegan queso with potatoes and carrots as the 'cheddar'...and thought: Maybe I can make a hybrid.
It luckily turned out, for just winging everything, and now you too can have a vegan cheddar broccoli soup on the next cold rainy day. There are a few things that are optional in this recipe, like the Daiya cheese, if you want to make it a bit cheesier, but you could eliminate it, and it would be just as tasty. Also, try your hand at freezing some for a later date, esp. since there isn't any dairy in it to freeze!
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Makes Approx. 6 to 8 Servings
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 veg broth
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
optional:
- 1/2 cup Daiya (or non-dairy) cheddar shreds
INSTRUCTIONS:
Chop the florets off of the broccoli, and trim any leaves away. Cut the ends off of the stems, and discard, then roughly chop the rest of the stem and set aside. Take the head(s) of the broccoli and cut into small bite-sized florets. In a small pot, steam the broccoli until it is JUST cooked. Too long and they won't hold up in the soup.
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onions, cooking for a few minutes, then the garlic for an additional minute. 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 veg broth and bring to a low boil for 10 mins. In a blender, add the non-dairy milk, and the cashews, nutritional yeast, oregano and blend until creamy.
Working in batches, add in the broth and veg mixture from the pot until everything has been pureed. 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. But it's all preference. You can now add in the broccoli florets that you have steamed, and the non-dairy cheese if you're using it. Heat the broccoli through and it's ready to serve. Season with a bit of fresh pepper and....
ENJOY!
