cashew and carrot magic

Ruby gave me a neat organic cookbook and it is full of great stuff including a recipe for carrot and cashew soup with parsley oil. This is a super healthy soup and it doesn't use too many cashews (which is good because they are mad expensive). I had to alter the recipe just a bit to get more flavour from the carrots and onions. Enjoy!

6-8 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered
4 cups vegetable broth (I used half boxed vegetable broth and half homemade duck stock)
1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least an hour in water to soften.
+ olive oil and butter (if you are not lactose intolerant)

In a medium-to-large pot, combine the carrots, onions, celery, garlic and a generous glug of olive oil with a small knob of butter. On medium heat, let the vegetables sweat (caramelize). When the onions start to look translucent, cover everything with the stock. The original recipe simply dumps the stock on the raw veg. I found that method robs the carrots of their true carrot flavour potential. Sauteeing the veg first with a hint of butter and oil is a major improvement. Alternately, if you have the time, you could roast the veg (tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper in a 400 F oven for 20 mins or so) instead of sauteeing and start the soup that way. Bring the veg and stock to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes, until the carrots are fork-tender. Add the cashews and stir. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile...

1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley with stems, coarsely chopped (tip: use frozen if you do not have a food processor, it disintegrates more easily)
1 garlic clove, (peeled and minced if you do not have a food processor)
a little less than 1/2 cup olive oil
salt to taste

Combine the parsley, garlic, oil and salt in the bowl of a small food processor and process until smooth. Or, mix your chopped frozen parsley, minced garlic, oil and salt in a pestle and mortar and cream it.

Transfer the soup to a blender or use an immersion blender in the original pot and puree until smooth. Season with salt.

Pour the soup into individual bowls and drizzle with generous amounts of the parsley oil.



Recipe adapted from Anna Getty's Easy Green Organic: Cook Well - Eat Well - Live Well by Anna Getty. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2010. Image from Google Images.