My daughter is in the process of getting braces, so we have been making a lot of soup lately and I am trying to come up with some new recipes. This potato leek soup is smooth, creamy and decadent. No one will ever believe that it is made with cashew cream instead of heavy cream. Just make sure that you wash your leeks really well or your soup will be gritty because leeks hold a lot of dirt in their layers. To clean my leeks, I cut them in half longways and slice them (you just want the tender white part of the leeks, so cut off the tough green ends). Then I put them in a large bowl of water and swish them around to get all the dirt out of the rings. The dirt should sink to the bottom of the bowl so you can scoop the clean leeks off the top of the water. To make this soup even more rich you can top it with tempeh fakin bacon.
Potato Leek Soup
1 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups water
2 TBSP olive oil
2 large leeks cleaned and sliced
3 large baking potatoes peeled and diced
6 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Soak the cashews in the water for at least and hour then blend until creamy and thick.
In a large pot heat the oil. Add in the leeks and cook for about 5 minutes. Add in the potatoes and cook 5 more minutes. Add in the broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes and very tender. Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaves from the soup. Blend the soup until it is creamy and then stir in the cashew cream.