Creamy Cashew Mushroom Soup (Vegan)

I love mushroom soup.  Seriously.  I've made this recipe with a single type of mushroom as well as with crazy mixes and it has been delicious every time!  (Pictured are shiitake, crimini and oyster) You can use whatever mushrooms you like and change the amount of diced mushrooms added at the end for a chunkier soup.  

So, most cream of mushroom soups get their creaminess from...well, cream.  And often heavy cream at that.  In raw food, cashews are substituted to replicate a creamy texture (and add protein), so I borrowed that idea.  However, this is far from raw since a bowl of soup just above room temperature won't cut it on a cold night, but it's still great for chilly vegans!

I also add hemp and chia seeds to anything I can, just for the nutritional value.  Hemp seeds do add a touch of nuttiness and the chia seeds act as a thickener.  Omitting the hemp seeds shouldn't change anything much, but if you omit the chia seeds, cut back on the water about a half cup since those little guys suck up water like crazy.

Try it out, change it up and enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups Fresh Mushrooms (1 1/2 cup sliced, 1/2 cup diced)
1 cup Cashews (soaked 1hour, give or take)
1 tbs Fresh Thyme
1/2 tsp Fresh Sage
1 tsp Lemon Juice
3 Tbs Shallots, chopped
2 Tbs Hemp Seeds
2 Tbs Chia Seeds
6 cloves Roasted Garlic
1 Tbs Coconut Aminos (could also use Braggs or regular soy sauce)
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Cumin

Olive Oil for roasting/sauteing


Preparation

• Roast garlic
• Soak cashews in water for about an hour
• Slice 1 1/2 cups of mushrooms (these will go in the soup right away)
• Dice 1/2 cup of the mushrooms and set aside until later

Directions

1. Mix the cashews plus 1 cup water, in a high speed blender* until smooth
2. Pour about 1 Tbs of olive oil in your soup pot/saucepan and add shallots
3. Saute until shallots become transparent
4. Add the 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms and allow to cook about 5 - 10 minutes
5. Add the cooked mushrooms along with the roasted garlic, thyme, sage, hemp and chia seeds into the blender with the cashews, blend until smooth
6. Pour the whole mixture back into the pot and put on medium heat
7. Mix in 1/2 cup of diced mushrooms
8. Add the cumin, sea salt and coconut amino and stir until incorporated
9. Allow the soup to come to a simmer, then it's ready to serve!
10. Garnish with mushroom slices and thyme if you like

Makes approximately 4 cups, which I'd say is 8 servings (It's a pretty dense dish).
Depending on the how the chia seeds are feeling, you may want to thin out the soup with a little more water.

*If you are using a regular or immersion blender, I'd soak the cashews 2+ hours and expect a less creamy texture.