This is a nourishing, whole-food soup that will warm your soul & belly. It's my favorite as the days grow cooler.
It has a beautiful flavor, the nicest texture and pairs perfectly with a toasty grilled cheeze sandwich on Ezekiel bread :)
Creamy Tomato & Eggplant Soup (V + GF)
Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
2 cups raw cashews
Purified soaking water
1 3/4 cups water
3 carrots
1 white onion
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium eggplant
3 fresh tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can Italian diced tomatoes, divided
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 TB tomato paste
6-8 cloves garlic
2 TB avocado oil
4 cups veggie broth
2 TB Italian seasoning blend
2 TB pink salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
Soak cashews for at least 30 minutes up to overnight. The longer they soak, the creamier the texture.
Heat large soup pot over medium heat. You will add oil to the pot about 30 seconds before you add your veggies for cooking.
Chop all fresh ingredients up roughly, cutting carrots a bit smaller for quicker cooking and mincing your garlic.
Add all of your chopped veggies, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper to the heated pot. Saute for around 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add tomato sauce, paste and the veggie broth.
Bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered.
In the meantime, drain cashews and add to blender with 1 3/4 cups of water.
Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
When soup is finished cooking, turn off heat.
Use an immersion blender to blend soup until it's mostly smooth (or you can transfer the soup to your blender).
*Add your can of diced tomatoes and the blended cashew cream. Mix together well.
The soup is ready! Serve with a delicious vegan grilled cheeze and enjoy the fruits of your labour! <3 Keeps for around 6 days in the fridge.
Note:
If you like a smooth soup, you can choose to blend the diced tomatoes with the rest of it. I personally like the added bit of texture.
-Kali
