Any one else out there remember enjoying Broccoli Cheddar Soup?  I loved it and have been thinking about it ever since I made the Cream of Mushroom Soup.  The thing that has stopped me has been trying to figure out how to get the cheese flavor.  If you have followed my recipes for any length of time you may have noticed that aside from vegan cream cheese I very rarely use packaged vegan cheeses and tend to make my own cheese sauces.  Well, with the use of heavy cashew cream I created a base that tasted like cheesy goodness and added a wonderful flavor to the broccoli soup.

A few things worth mentioning:
1. I read a lot of Broccoli Soup recipes prior to making this and all of them called for frozen broccoli which was surprising but that is what I ended up using.
2. I wanted my soup to be creamy but if you want a chunky texture you could hold some of the broccoli aside and add it after you blend the rest of the ingredients before bringing it to boil the second time.
3. In the picture for presentation I had sautéed some broccoli slaw in vegan butter and garlic powder and added it to the top.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Vegan butter
1 medium potato – peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
1 leek diced – white and light green portion
1 clove garlic – diced
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp dry thyme
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp flour
4 cups water
1 tbsp Vegetarian Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base
16 Oz frozen broccoli – defrosted
1 1/2 cups heavy cashew cream
3 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Makes 4 meal size servings.

In a soup pot saute leek, potato, garlic, nutmeg, thyme and pepper in butter over medium low heat until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes.)  Add flour and cook for five more minutes.  Slowly stir in 4 cups water.  Add bouillon and broccoli. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.

While broth is simmering, in a separate pan, over low heat mix cashew cream, tamari, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, vinegar and paprika. heat until warm.

After broth has simmered for 30 minutes, pour into a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. It took a minute or so in the Vita-mix. Pour broth back into soup pot and bring back to a boil.  As soon as it has boiled remove from heat and stir in cashew cream mixture.  Do not let it boil once cashew cream is added because it will crack (remember this if you happen to have left overs that you are trying to reheat.)