Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup

Fall is kicking up around here, and the house has been getting colder. A warm bowl of soup sounded really good. The olive oil and zucchini combine to give this soup a creamy flavor and texture without the cow.


Cream of Mushroom Soup
serves 6, prep time: about 30 minutes
1 scant cup onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds zucchini, skinned, trimmed, and diced
2 1/4 cups water
1 tsp salt

2 Tb olive oil
2 1/2 cups diced mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
black pepper
salt

Put the olive oil in a 3 or 4 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Once the oil is ready, put in the onions and garlic and cook them (stirring often) for about 5 minutes or until they are soft. Add the zucchini and stir occasionally for 5 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups of water and simmer partially covered for 15 minutes.

Dice 2 1/2 cups of mushrooms and mince a clove of garlic. Add 2 Tb of olive oil to a saute pan and cook the garlic for about a minute. Add in the thyme and basil and cook for another minute. Add the mushrooms, a pinch of salt, and pepper to taste. Cook down the mushrooms.

Cool the zucchini mixture a bit and then pour 1/2 in a blender (careful!). Blend until smooth and empty into a large bowl. Blend the other half of the zucchini mixture until smooth and add that to the large bowl. Pour the cooked mushrooms over the top, give a quick stir with a ladle, and serve.

If you are planning to use this as a casserole base, add 1-2 Tb of tapioca flour in the cool water you add to the zucchinis to make it thicker.