Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Every time I cook with cashew cream I'm always amazed at how it can replicate dairy.  It can be used in savory dishes like soups, pastas, mashed potatoes, etc.  On the other hand, it can be sweetened and used in desserts such as a topping on a cake.  Today I decided to make cream of broccoli soup with cashew cream.  Not quite fall soup weather yet but I had broccoli from the farmer's market and decided to make this soup.  It's creamy and you won't know that there's no dairy in it!

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup water

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

4 cups vegetable broth

3 broccoli heads, chopped into small pieced (I save my broccoli stems for juicing)

1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Prepare cashew cream by blending 1 cup raw cashews and 1 cup water in high-speed blender.  Set aside.  (If you do not have a high speed blender, soak cashews for 3-4 hours prior to blending).
2. On medium high heat, line a stock pot with about 1/2 inch of vegetable broth and saute garlic, onion, and celery until onion is translucent.
3. Add  rest of vegetable broth and broccoli to pot and increase heat to high.  Once boiling, lower heat to medium and simmer until broccoli is tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add rosemary, cashew cream, and nutritional yeast.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer and stir occasionally for 5 more minutes until flavors have combined.
5. With immersion blender or regular blender, blend soup on low speed until the big chunks of broccoli have turned into small pieces.
6. Stir soup and serve.