Meet Cassandra & Your New Favorite Soup

It's double whammy Thursdays.  On many Thursdays we bring a guest in - introducing you to what they do, let them they take the drivers seat and give us some wisdom of their own. Today's boss of the blog is coming to us all the way from Sweden, meet Cassandra - kitchen ninja, creative health-nut, wife and mother.  She is is currently studying to be a health and nutrition coach.  She likes surrounding herself with inspiring, kind and happy people - and we're blushing that she finds Prescribe Nutrition to be all of that!   
Cassandra is a rock star in the kitchen and she's sharing one of her favorite soups and kitchen tips.

Can you say - YUM?

This is about as Swedish a picture can get!  The berries on the straw are called smultron, a wild native berry.  

Now, if you know the crew at PN and you hear the word cream you likely know there is something up their sleeve.  To align with that promise, I’m bringing you (straight from Sweden) one of my FAVORITE Fall soups.  The great news is that this soup is guaranteed to satisfy those fall cravings without an ounce of discontentment, but rather, a lot of nutrients that’ll warm your insides and  put a smile on your face even on those grey days. It’s simple, fast and versatile - it’s your classic tomato soup with a PN twist of course!

Now that I’ve put this soup up on a pedestal, let’s get to the good part, right?  The creaminess!  We are going to use cashews to get that creamy, delicious and decadent flavor into our soup.

You may have heard of cashew cream being used in a variety of recipes, but in my soups, I like to just blend in the whole nut. It lends a thickness to the soups that I feel is more satisfying than just the cream. Plus, like all y’all, I don’t just have time lying around to waste on going nuts over nuts and straining them through a cheesecloth or something…I just soak them overnight so they are nice and soft and blend them up right with the soup!

I saved some of the cashew cream blend so you can get a real view of just how creamy it is. Magic for soups.

Before you divert to the recipe, let me just let you in on a little secret; don’t limit this cashew creaminess to just tomato soup, oh no no no, go crazy and try to incorporate it into any of your favorite soups, for example, I also love it in my chicken soups.

Creamy Cashew Tomato Soup           

Prep + Cook Time: 35 mins       

Yield: 6 servings

What you need…

• 2 Tbsp  virgin coconut oil

• 1 medium red onion, diced

• 1 large carrot, shredded

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 15 oz can tomato puree

• 2 15 oz cans crushed tomatoes

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• Fresh ground pepper

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked

• 2 cups organic vegetable or chicken broth

*For garnish: fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil

What to do…

1. Soak the cashews in enough water to cover them. You can do this overnight and make the soup the next morning or afternoon, or you can put them in water in the morning and make the soup in the evening.

2. Drain, rinse and then blend cashews until smooth with 2 cups of broth

3. In the pot that you will make the soup in; sauté the onions, carrots and garlic

4. Once onion mixture begins to soften, add the can of tomato puree and simmer 15 mins until completely softened

5. Pour mixture into blender with cashew cream and blend until smooth, then back into pot

6. Add both cans of the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, just cook until hot

7. Garnish in bowl with a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, chopped fresh basil and a swig of olive oil (Note: I personally like to finely chop the basil and leave it in the olive oil while I make the soup to get a more infused flavor)

The final product!

If you recall I mentioned that this soup is also versatile, and that’s because you can easily switch out the flavors to accommodate leftovers or even just to satisfy your mood. Today was an Italian inspiration, however for Mexican, you could exchange the garnish for a sprinkle of cumin, fresh, chopped cilantro, a bit of lime juice, and maybe even some avocado. I frequently have leftover quinoa and chicken, so sometimes I just throw that in after the blending stage.  

Enjoy!

Cassandra