Guest Post: Vegan Creamy Mushroom Soup

I am so happy today to have a Guest Post from a new Blogging Buddy! Please let me introduce to you in case you haven't found her already Miss Janette from Culinary Ginger!

Hello foodies! My name is Janette and I'm fairly new to food blogging, but I'm having a great time sharing my recipes and stories on my blog culinaryginger.com.  I'm honored to be a guest blogger today  and I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please contact me if you have any questions. Happy cooking!

Who knew you could use raw cashew's to make a no creamy soup creamy? Not me, until I ordered vegan mushroom soup in a café in London. I asked how they make the soup so thick and creamy and they told me, raw cashews. So those of you who are not able to tolerate dairy and missed out on all those creamy soups, this recipe is for you and is also a great vegan and vegetarian recipe.

I've tried the recipe a few times and this is the best tasting so far. The difference this time, I used dried porcini mushrooms and reconstituted them in warm water. This created a mushroom broth that I think gives the soup the extra mushroom flavor boost. 

Ingredients (4 servings) 

• 1oz dried porcini mushrooms* (see note)
• 4 cups luke warm water
• 1 and 1/2 lb of mixed mushrooms, stems removed and chopped  (I used 14oz cremini, , 4 oz portobello, 2 oz shitake, 4oz reconstituted porcini)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium leeks, chop, then wash in a bowl of water, drain on a paper towel
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4  teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2/3 cup of raw cashews
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups of vegetable stock to thin out soup, if needed

*The 1oz of dried porcini mushrooms equals 4oz of fresh porcini mushrooms after reconstituting.

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add the 4 cups of lukewarm water.
2. Add the dried porcini mushrooms and allow to sit for 30 minutes to reconstitute. This will also be the mushroom stock for the soup.
3. Using a sieve, drain the reconstituted porcini mushrooms. This is in case there is grit. Save the liquid to use later.
4. Chop the reconstituted porcini mushrooms the same size as the other mushrooms.
5. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
6. Add all the mushrooms, including porcini, sauté until soft. 
7. Remove 1/3 of mushrooms and set aside to add to soup later.
8. Add leeks, pinch of salt and continue to sauté until leeks are soft.
9. Add the garlic, ground coriander, rosemary and bay leaf, cook for 2 minutes.
10. Add the cashews, stock, the rest of the salt and pepper.
11. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
12. Discard the bay leaf.
13. If you have an immersion blender, use this to blend the soup in the pan. If not, transfer 1/4 to a blender and blend until smooth, if it's too thick, add vegetable stock to get the consistency you like. 
14.  Transfer to a bowl and continue with the rest of the soup. 
15. Put all the soup back into the soup pan, add the mushrooms you set aside. 
16. Reheat and test for seasoning. Adjust seasoning if needed. Serve.