Vegan Creamy Cauliflower Wild Rice Soup

This vegan creamy cauliflower wild rice soup is brimming with good-for-you ingredients yet you'd never know it based on taste. Its savory, rich, and oh-so-creamy base is made with a combination of cauliflower-cashew cream and vegetable broth.

You’ll Need:

1. 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend
2. 4 cups fresh cauliflower florets
3. 2 tablespoons olive oil
4. 1 large white or yellow onion, diced
5. 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
6. 3 cloves garlic, minced
7. 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
8. 1 1/2 cups filtered water
9. 3 stalks celery, peeled and diced
10. 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or more to taste
11. 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary or more to taste
12. 2/3 cup raw cashews, soaked for two hours (unless using a high-speed blender)
13. 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
14. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
15. 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
16. Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

• Cook the rice according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile (about halfway through cooking the rice), bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and boil for 7 to 10 minutes, or until fork-tender. Drain and set aside.
• While the cauliflower boils, heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, thyme, and rosemary. Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables just begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute, or until it begins to soften.
• Stir in the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the boiled cauliflower to a high-speed blender along with the filtered water, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and sea salt. Blend on high for two minutes, or until completely smooth and creamy.
• Add the cauliflower cream mixture and the cooked rice to the pot of soup and stir to incorporate. Increase the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for just 5 minutes.
• Taste and generously season with more sea salt and black pepper to taste. (I usually add another 1 teaspoon of sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.)
• Serve warm.
• Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
• If the soup is thicker than desired after refrigerating and reheating, simply whisk in a bit more vegetable broth or filtered water and adjust seasonings as needed.

Source: blissfulbasil.com