Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
This plant based creamy wild rice and mushroom soup is 100% as satisfying as its dairy filled counterpart. The creamy base is a super smooth blend of cashews and steamed cauliflower. Sautéd mushrooms, shallots, celery and fresh thyme lend plenty of savory flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend
- 4-5 cups fresh cauliflower florets (usually 2 small organic cauliflower heads)
- 2/3 cup raw cashews
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 stalks celery, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup shallots, finely diced (about 2 large)
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 16 oz sliced mushrooms, white or baby portabella
- 2 Tbs fresh thyme, chopped (divided)
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt (divided)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Cook wild rice (I use Lundberg Wild Rice blend) according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. Approx. 45 min to cook.
-
While cooking the rice, start on the cauliflower, mushrooms and shallots/celery mixture.
CAULIFLOWER CASHEW CREAM
-
Place a steam basket in a large pot, add an inch or 2 of water to the bottom, steam cauliflower florets with the lid on, medium to medium-high, until extremely fork tender. Approx. 10 min. Drain and transfer to blender.
-
In a high-speed blender, add water, cashews, lemon juice, and 1.5 tsp Kosher salt. Add steamed cauliflower. Blend on high (liquid setting on a Vitamix) until completely smooth and creamy. Approx. 2-3 min. Set aside until ready to mix cashew cauliflower cream into soup.
MUSHROOMS
-
In another sauté pan, add 2 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and 1 Tbs chopped thyme. Cook until mushrooms have taken on color, 5- 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, season with 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Set aside until ready to add to soup.
SHALLOTS/CELERY/GARLIC
-
In a large stockpot, add 2 Tbs olive oil.
-
Over medium heat, sauté shallots, celery, and 1 Tbs. thyme. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill. Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables just begin to soften, stirring occasionally.
-
Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
-
Stir in the vegetable broth. Keep this stockpot warm (low heat) and covered until your rice is done cooking in the other pot.
-
Once rice is ready, add rice, sautéd mushrooms and cauliflower cashew cream to the stockpot. Stir gently to combine.
-
Increase the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer covered for just 5 minutes or until soup is hot and ready to enjoy!
-
Season with Kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Sprinkle each bowl with extra thyme. Enjoy!
Notes
Soup will thicken after refrigeration. It only gets better in my opinion, but feel free to add more broth or water to loosen the soup if you would like a thinner broth.