Whole30

(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Meat-Free | Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) I’ve been looking for new ways to use my winter veggies from my Kent Veg Box. This recipe was a real find because the ingredients called for exactly what was in my veg box! Also, if you have roasted veg left from Christmas, this soup might help you find a new way to use the leftovers. I especially like the homemade cashew cream that this soup calls for. What a great substitute for normal cream! I ran out of vegetable broth when I made this so I decided to let my soup be a little thicker than originally called for, but you can do whatever you want!

FYI: You’ll have to soak your cashews for a few hours before you start making the soup. The recipe says to soak them for 3-4 hours. I soaked mine for almost 2, and it was fine!

Ingredients

100g (3/4 cup) cashews
400g leek (1 large leek)
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped (I added this to original recipe)
1 small cabbage (about 1kg or 2lb)
2 yellow onions
4 tbsp rapeseed oil (or any other neutral tasting oil)
2 litres (8 cups) vegetable broth
1 tsp dried marjoram (I didn’t have this so I skipped)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Soak 100 g (3/4 cup) cashews in water for 3-4 hours or overnight.
Cut off the hairy end of the leek (the root part) and also discard the dark green ends. Slice the leek lengthwise, fan it open and clean it under running water. Make sure to get rid of the dirt between the individual layers. Chop the leek.
Wash the cabbage, cut it into quarters, and discard the core of each quarter. Chop the quarters finely.
Peel the onions, chop them and sauté them in rapeseed oil (I used olive oil) until they are translucent. Add leek and cabbage to the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the vegetable broth and the marjoram. Cook with a lid on until the vegetables are soft (about 15-30 minutes).
Rinse the soaked cashews and blend them with 200 ml (1 cup) of water until you get a smooth cream. Add the cream to the soup and puree it. Taste test and add salt if needed.

If you’d like to add some extra bits on top of the soup, you can boil beetroot (peel and cube it) and roast some cashews. Serve the soup hot topped with beet cubes and roasted cashew.