Spicy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Kiss my spatula and call me home for dinner!  Down home comfort food, that is exactly what this Broccoli Cheese Soup is all about!  I wish I had some great soup story to share but I don’t.  I didn’t grow up working 10 hours a day in the garden picking broccoli till my fingers bled, nor did I carry it 10 miles uphill both ways.. but I did grow up eating Cambell’s canned soup!   I used cashew nuts and hemp seeds in this recipe.  You could use all cashews or all hemp seeds if you desire.  The soaked cashews add a real creaminess to the soup.  The hemp seeds add tons of nutrients!  You can read all about them here.  This soup is thick so if you want a thinner soup just add in more almond milk.  It could also double as a dip for veggies or flax crackers if you cut down on the liquid used in the recipe.  .

Ingredients:

• 6 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 2 hrs)
• 1 cup hemp seeds
• 2 1/2 large red bell peppers
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp of red chili pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sea salt

Preparation:

1. Cut all the florets off of the broccoli stalks (save for your next salad or juice them).  Place in a medium size bowl and cover with hot water to slightly blanch and soften.  Allow the broccoli to sit while you make the sauce.
2. Chop the red pepper into chunks then add to a blender with the almond milk and lemon juice.  Blend until the pepper is broken down nicely.  If you blend everything at once the red pepper won’t break down fully.  I speak from experience. :)
3. Add the cashews, hemp seeds, red chili pepper flakes and salt and again blend until smooth.  Continue blending until all the grittiness is gone.  Before adding in the remaining ingredients, test the soup for texture.
4. Add the nutritional yeast and broccoli and blend again.  You could hold back some of the florets and put them in at the end if you want a chunkier texture.  Doing it in stages like this helps you to get the smooth consistency without over-heating it.
5. Serve!  This soup can be eaten chilled, at room temp, warmed in the dehydrator at 118 degrees for 1 hour or heated in a pan (if being raw isn’t a factor).
6. Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge.

Posted on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at 9:37 pm. Filed under: Soup / Salad Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Vegan RSS 2.0 feed.