BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CASHEW CREAM

October 25, 2018 Julie Sanchez

Since Halloween and Thanksgiving are coming up, I thought this would be the perfect time of year to serve this creamy, satisfying, and easy soup. When I was developing the recipe, I made the soup so many different ways. I tested the soup with onions, versus shallots, versus leeks, and all the soups tasted the same. I also tested the soup with half and half versus cashew cream. My husband and I did blind taste tests to confirm which creamy soup we preferred, and we both agreed the cashew cream soup was tastiest. If you are not familiar with cashew cream, do not be scared. It is easy to make and it really has no taste; it simply thickens and enrichens the soup. I think in my old age, my tummy is becoming sensitive to dairy products. So this is the ideal soup if you watching your diet or simply cutting out dairy.

Make sure you buy unroasted and unsalted cashews. This is very important for the cashew cream. I prefer the organic low sodium vegetable broth, and I love the precut butternut squash from Trader Joe’s. Cutting up a butternut squash is simply not fun!

My son loves a pinch nutmeg in the soup, I prefer cayenne pepper over the nutmeg. But either one works, depending on your taste. I like to garnish the soup with a sprinkling of roasted pepitas. I buy them at HEB in the produce isle. We are addicted to pepitas. We pull them out to munch on when we are having a drink. So if you buy them they will not go to waste.

You must soak the cashews a minimum of 4 hours to overnight at room temperature. I usually soak them in the morning before I make the soup in the afternoon, or you can soak them overnight. Just the cover the cashews with water.

Peel the onion, slice off the ends and roughly chop the onion.

Peel the garlic and roughly chop the garlic.

On high heat in a medium saucepan saute the onions with 1 tablespoon olive oil for 4-5 minutes till golden.

Add 4 1/2 cups of broth, the butternut squash, garlic, and black pepper to the onion mixture and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, turn heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the soup is cooking you can prepare the cashew cream. You must rinse the cashews and drain before adding to the blender or Nutribullet. Rinsing the cashews makes the cashew cream easier to digest.

You need a powerful blender or a Nutribullet to make the cashew cream. If your blender is not powerful you will not achieve the smooth consistency you need. I like to use a Nutribullet because its powerful and quick. You simply combine 3/4 cup of vegetable broth with the rinsed cashews and blend till really smooth and creamy. Alternatively you can add the cashews to your blender with your 3/4 cup of broth, start on a slow speed and build up to the highest speed for 1 minute. Check to see if you have a smooth texture. It is easier in the blender since you can add your soup to the cashew cream and blend all together. The Nutribullet does make the cashew cream smoother than a traditional blender.

Once the soup has cooled, spoon it in the blender and add your salt. Blend till smooth. Since my cashew cream was made in my Nutribullet I blend the soup first and then add the cashew cream. If you make the cashew cream in the blender first, you will just add the soup to the cashew cream and blend all together. Make sure to open the top of the blender a little to allow steam to escape to prevent an explosion.

Add the cashew cream and blend again till smooth and creamy. Taste the mixture for consistency. If you prefer a thinner soup then add more broth and blend again. At this point you can add a pinch of nutmeg or cayenne pepper and blend once more to combine.

Your soup is ready to reheat for serving or storing for later.

The soup fits perfectly in these containers I bought from HEB. They have screw tops so they are awesome for transport, and they stack which is a bonus.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CASHEW CREAM RECIPE

Serves: 4-6 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup raw and unroasted cashews, soaked minimum 4 hours in water, drained and rinsed
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Two 12 ounce packages precut butternut squash from Trader Joe’s
5 1/4 cups (44 ounces) vegetable broth, divided (3/4 cup and
4 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
generous grinding of black pepper
2 teaspoons salt

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS

Pinch of nutmeg or cayenne
garnish with roasted pepitas

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

powerful blender or
Nutribullet

PREPARATION

Soak cashews in a small bowl, cover with water and soak a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
Roughly cut up one onion and place in a medium pan. Turn heat on high and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally till golden.
Add 4 1/2 cups of the broth carefully to the pan (it will sizzle due to high heat) along with the butternut squash, the garlic and black pepper.
Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 20 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, make the cashew cream by first draining and rinsing the cashews. Place them in a blender or Nutribullet. Add 3/4 cup of the remaining vegetable broth. Blend till very smooth and creamy. If using a blender, start the mixture on low and build up to the highest speed for 1 minute still smooth.
Once soup has cooked, let it cool down a little before blending.
If you made your cream in the blender, simply add the soup and blend till smooth. Allow steam to escape from the top so no explosion will occur. If you used the Nutribullet, blend your soup first and then add the cashew cream.
Sample to make sure you like the consistency, and add more broth if necessary. You can add a pinch of cayenne pepper or nutmeg if you desire, and blend once more.

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CREAMY CAULIFLOWER SOUP

January 25, 2017 Julie Sanchez

My creamy cauliflower soup has no milk or cream and yet it tastes and feels richly satisfying. The creaminess comes from raw cashews, that when soaked and blended with cauliflower, create a velvety delicious soup. It meets Paleo, vegan, and Whole 30 guidelines, and its easy to prepare. I have used raw cashews to thicken sauces, and soups before, but when I combined it with the cauliflower, my husband thought we were eating potato soup. Make it on Sunday and you will be ready for meatless Mondays!

You must buy raw, whole cashews for this recipe. I purchase mine from Whole Foods. I also prefer low sodium organic vegetable broth so you can control the saltiness.

You must soak the cashews a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight. The reason I soak the nuts is to make them easier to digest. According to Whole Lifestyle Nutrition: "By soaking you are breaking down the phytic acid so it can be absorbed properly. Nuts also have high amounts of enzymes inhibitors. This is another reason why unsoaked nuts are hard to digest, Soaking nuts neutralizes the enzymes allowing for proper digestion."

I like to store the leftover cashews in the freezer.

Cut off the bottom core and remove the leaves of the cauliflower.

Now cut the branches off around the core.

Break or cut the branches into smaller pieces of cauliflower. Discard the core and leaves.

Cut the ends off the shallots and peel off the orange skin.

Roughly chop the shallots. They will be blended in the blender so they do not need to be finely chopped.

Prep your garlic with a garlic press.

Pull out a medium sauce pan. Turn heat on high and add a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the shallots and cook on high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally till they have a little color.

Now add your broth, cauliflower, garlic, and a pinch of cayenne. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium and cover. You want to simmer for 25 minutes.

Drain your soaked cashews and rinse with water. Set aside.

After 25 minutes add the mixture to a blender. (I have a Vitamix blender which I love...it's so freaking powerful). Now add the drained cashews and salt to the blender. Its better to let the mixture cool down before you blend it. But if you are impatient like me you can blend it in 2 batches, to allow the steam from the hot liquid to escape easier. When blending hot liquids, hold the lid off the top a little with a towel to allow the steam to escape, otherwise you may have an explosion. If your cauliflower head was small, then reserve about 1/2 cup of the broth and do not add all till after you have blended it to make sure you achieve the right consistency.

CREAMY CAULIFLOWER SOUP RECIPE

Serves: 4 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup raw whole cashews (soaked in water 2 hours - overnight)
1 head of cauliflower
5 cups low sodium vegetable broth (two 32 ounce boxes)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt

pREPARATION

Soak your cashews a minimum of 2 hours, but preferably overnight. I explain why above, but basically they will be easier to digest. Place the cashews in a bowl with enough water to cover them by about one inch.
Cut up your cauliflower into small pieces. Discard the leaves and core.
Prep your shallots. Cut the ends off and peel off the orange skin. Then roughly chop the shallot.
Mince your garlic, or run it through a garlic press.
Pull out a medium sauce pan and turn heat on high.
Add one teaspoon of oil to the pan and add the shallots. Cook on high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally till they have a little color.
Add the broth, cauliflower, garlic, and a pinch of cayenne. (store the remaining broth in the fridge)
Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, put the lid on, turn the heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes.
Drain and rinse cashews. Set Aside.
After 25 minutes take off the heat and let the mixture cool down.
Once cooled put the mixture in the blender. Add the salt and cashews. (I like to reserve about 1/2 of the cooking liquid to make sure your soup is the right consistency. Cauliflower comes in all different sizes, and you can add more broth but you cannot make it thicker once the soup is too thin.)
Blend 'til smooth and creamy. You can now add the remaining broth to achieve the consistency you desire. If the mixture is still hot, blend in 2 batches to allow room for the steam in the blender. Hold the blender top a little open so the steam can escape. Be careful with hot liquids in the blender. I like to hold the top down with a towel on top to prevent an explosion of hot liquids. Yes, I have had to wipe down my cabinets with a hot soup explosion...not pretty!
Taste for saltiness and heat. You can add more cayenne or salt to taste and blend on the highest setting to create a smooth soup.

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ASPARAGUS,SPINACH,& LEEK SOUP

October 7, 2015 Julie Sanchez

Soup is not just for Winter. We love soup all year long. It's always good leftover, and it's so nice to come home and simply heat up dinner in one pot. I have made asparagus and leek soup for years and then decided one day that the color was not very fresh or appealing. It was similar to the color of our green carpet back in the 70's. So I decided to add spinach to the ingredients for two reasons. One, it brightens the color of the soup and makes its more appealing and two, spinach is just so good for us. It is high in potassium, iron, calcium, fiber, and magnesium. If you are following a Paleo diet or dairy free diet simply leave off the half and half and sour cream garnish. Its yummy both ways!

Asparagus, Spinach, Leeks, and Garlic are the fresh ingredients you need.

Leeks do not need to be scary. Cut the root end off and save the tender middle section.

Peel off outer layer of skin, then cut in half lengthwise. Run under water opening up the layers since dirt loves to hide in the layers, Then chop into one inch pieces.

In large pot on high heat saute leeks with olive oil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally till leeks are translucent with a little color,

Remove the bottom part of the asparagus and discard before chopping asparagus. It's considered the tough part and it is best to remove it.

Cut the asparagus in 2" pieces

After simmering leeks, asparagus, garlic in vegetable broth for 25 minutes, you add the fresh spinach. Turn off heat, stir, cover, and let sit for 2-3 minutes.

After you puree mixture in blender, garnish the soup with diluted sour cream and your saved asparagus tips. The swirl may seem hard to do but it's not. Hold spoon of sour cream in your hand and swirl it on the soup like you shake a dice. Moving your hand right and left. You can practice on the paper towel. And each time you swirl it, it will be different and original. Your very own edible work of art. Enjoy!

ASPARAGUS,SPINACH & LEEK SOUP RECIPE

Serves 4 as a main course

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 leeks, rinsed and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth (One 32 oz box)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches asparagus (1 1/2 - 2 pounds), chopped into 2" pieces
5 ounces fresh spinach (One "Organic Girl" box)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup sour cream, diluted with water
Optional: dash of cayenne pepper

PREPARATION

In a large pot saute leeks in olive oil on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, till lightly golden.
Add broth, garlic, and asparagus. Bring to a boil.
Turn heat down to medium/ medium low to simmer and cover with lid.
After 5 minutes, pull of asparagus tips (2 per bowl) and save for garnish.
Simmer for 25 minutes.
Add spinach, stir, turn off heat, put lid on the let sit for 2-3 minutes.
Puree in blender till smooth. Be careful with hot liquids in a blender, either let it cool down a little bit, or hold a towel on the lid. I have had hot liquid explosions and its not fun! It is also better to puree in small batches. Save a little of the cooking liquid, so you can control the consistency of your soup. You can always add more...but you cannot thicken it later.
Add half and half (you can leave off the half and half if you are doing paleo, or dairy free).
Salt and pepper to taste.
Put sour cream in bowl , dilute with water and stir till loose enough to drizzle on soup as garnish.
Place soup in bowl, drizzle with sour cream.
Place 2 asparagus tips on sour cream drizzle.

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SERVING SUGGESTION

This soup would be delicious served with a crunchy, garlicky Caesar salad.