Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup

Oh man is this a good one!  That is, if you like creamy, comforting, decadent but healthy soups... 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
s/p
3 cups vegetable broth

For the Cashew Cream:

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions to oil and saute until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, stir, and cook for 1 minute more.  Add the mushrooms, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and cook until mushrooms are cooked and broken down, about 5 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Add cracked pepper and  vegetable stock and cook at a simmer until mushrooms are completely soft.  This took me about 10 to 15 minutes.

While the soup simmers, prepare the cashew cream.  In a blender, combine raw cashews and water.  Blend on high until smooth.  Pour into a measuring cup and set aside.  Don’t worry about washing the blender… we’re going to use it to blend the soup.

When mushrooms are cooked through, add about one third of the soup to the blender.  Hot soup rises high in the blender so definitely be careful how high you fill the blender.  Blend soup on low, increasing the speed to high, until no large mushroom chunks remain.  Pour blended soup into a clean pot or large bowl.  Blend the remaining soup in batches.  Add the cashew cream to the blended soup and stir to incorporate.

Top with a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped parsley!