Vegan Tomato Soup

Serve 4

Tomato soup is the perfect recipe to use up any extra soft tomatoes you may have around. It can be difficult to recreate comfort foods to accommodate different diets but this vegan version is creamy and rich with the addition of cashews. It’s a quick and simple soup to cook and blend together. Serve it warm or chilled on a hot day.

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil 

1 white onion 

4 cloves garlic 

2.5 lbs tomatoes, diced  

basil, a large sprig plus more for garnish 

1 cup cashews

½ tsp salt, divided 

¼ tsp pepper

4 cups water 

1-2 tsp red or white wine vinegar

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. 

Roughly chop the onion, peel the garlic, and add to the heated oil. The mixture will be blended so none of the ingredients need to be nicely chopped. 

Cook the garlic and onion and ¼ tsp of the salt for about five minutes, to soften. If needed, lower the heat to prevent browning.

Add the diced tomatoes, cashews, remaining ¼ tsp salt, and pepper to the pot and cook for five minutes to allow the tomatoes to begin to break down.

Add the sprig of basil, and water. Cover the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat.  

After the mixture has reached a boil reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer covered for 10 minutes. 

Turn off the heat and remove the basil from the soup. 

Carefully add the mixture to a high-speed blender, using caution because it is hot. Blend for 30 seconds or until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Season with the red wine vinegar. All tomatoes have different acidity so adjust the amount of red wine vinegar as desired. 

Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.