I love a good potato soup, and when it’s hot outside cold potato soup, otherwise known as Vichyssoise, tastes so good. In Dina Cheney’s new book The New Milks, she brings together the classic combination of potato and leeks with fennel to make a fantastic tasting soup.
When I tried this recipe, I needed to make some adjustments due to allergies and flavor choices. Even with the tweaks, this is a rewarding recipe.
I normally use soy milk for my soups. This time I chose a recipe that called for cashew milk, something I hadn’t tried. Many of the recipes in this book gave me a new way of thinking how to use different “milks” in my cooking.
I went to work making this recipe and was rewarded with a rich, creamy soup with a depth of flavor. I garnished it with chives and shared it with my friends, who all said the same thing: Amazing.
As mentioned above, I made a few substitutions. In our house, we don’t use flour. I omitted the step of making a roux (butter and fat cooked together and then added to sauces and soups as a thickener). The combination of fennel, leek, and the cashew cream was going to provide enough body to thicken the vichyssoise. I did add the margarine and a little bit of arrowroot at the end to ensure the thickness.
A note about the recipe from the book, the roux was made from butter, making it not vegan, but you can easily make one with margarine and flour. The point is to use some kind of fat and flour.
Here’s the recipe, with the substitutions.
Vichysoisse
2016-08-28 23:45:17
Serves 8
A delicious twist on an old classic. In this recipe the author Dina Cheney uses fresh cashew milk as the cream base for this soup. I took it a step further and made sure it was vegan and gluten free.
2 tbsp vegan butter (here at TVC we use Smart Balance)
2 leeks, trimmed, halved, sliced and rinsed (2 cups)
½ large fennel bulb trimmed, cored, and coarsely chopped (1 cup)
1 starchy medium large potato, such as Idaho or russet, peeled and thinly sliced (2 scant cups)
2 ½ cups Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp arrow root
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 cup plain cashew milk
¼ cup minced chives, fresh
Instructions
Melt the vegan butter in a large stockpot (the recipe calls for a dutch oven). Once the butter is melted, add the leeks and fennel, cover and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
Add the potato and stir. Add the stock and salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
Cover and reduce the heat to medium low/low. Simmer until the potato is very tender, about 30 minutes.
Make a slurry out of the arrow root (add two tablespoons water to the arrow root and stir until smooth). Add into the soup mixture and cook for a few extra minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender. Add the cashew milk and puree until very smooth, about 45 seconds. Chill until cold.
Serve, garnished with the chives.
By Dina Cheney
Adapted from The New Milks
Adapted from The New Milks
Things Vegans Cook http://www.thingsveganscook.com/
For more great soup recipes see the Kitchen Shaman’s Kindle book
Cool drinks are in demand in the summer and most people go right for the lemonade or iced tea. In the Amercian Southwest, however, agua frescas are growing in popularity. Literally translated they are “fresh water” infused with fruit and herbs. Some popular flavors of agua fresca are strawberry, jamaica(hibiscus flower), and tamarind.
The recipe we’re sharing today features watermelon. It seemed appropriate, given that this is National Watermelon Month. Try it out and let us know how you like it.
Watermelon Agua Fresca
2016-07-23 20:16:40
A cool "fresh water" drink popularized in the Southwest.
1/2 watermelon, peeled and seeds taken out (use seedless for less work)
6 cups water
1/2 cup ginger infused simple syrup or 1/2 cup sweetener (if using stevia, use less)
juice of 1 lime
several sprigs of mint
Instructions
Peel watermelon and discard seeds, if necessary.
Blend 1 cup fruit to 2 cups water at a time with sweetener and 8-10 leaves of peppermint. Strain mixture and pour into pitcher. Add sweetener and mix..
Serve chilled and garnished with mint and lime slices.
Notes
To make simple syrup, check out this base recipe and then add 6-8 wafer thin slices of ginger.
By Chef Johnna Gale, AKA the Kitchen Shaman
Things Vegans Cook http://www.thingsveganscook.com/
Summertime is burger time — even in a zombie apocalypse. Have you ever wondered what you will eat after the zombies take over? Will it even be possible to maintain a vegan diet? Yes, it will — at least if you believe The Vegan Zombie.
The video below offers a recipe for Spicy Black Bean Burgers that you may want to try now, rather than waiting for the apocalypse.
As the temperature rises, people seek out foods that are colder. If you’re looking for a cold summer soup, you may be thinking gazpacho. Now most people think of gazpacho as a tomato soup, but there are lots of variations. You can find recipes featuring avocado, grapes, cucumber, and non-vegan stocks. This version highlights one of the ubiquitous summer fruits: watermelon.
The refreshing, raw soup combines watermelon with habenero chilis to provide a kick. You can adjust the amount of chilis to find the perfect heat level to offset the sweet coolness of the watermelon.
Watermelon Gazpacho
2016-07-12 12:22:17
Yields 6
This refreshing, cold soup takes advantage of the freshness of summer watermelon.
Summertime is great for both grilling and partying. What party food can benefit from a grilling? Salsa!
Join Chef Johnna Gale in the video below to learn how easy it is to make a spicy roasted salsa that will be the hit of any picnic, party, or cookout.
In addition to walking you through the recipe from the kitchen to the grill and back to the kitchen, Chef Johnna shows you how to safely peel your peppers and just how “roasted” your ingredients need to be.
The full recipe can be found here — and more salsa recipes (sans roasting) are available here.
Do you have a favorite salsa ingredient? How do you feel about salsas that go “beyond the tomato” to feature tomatillos, mangos, watermelon, or even cactus?
In Oaxaca, they have all kinds of mole, a kind of paste or thick sauce—yellow, green, red—but a chocolate mole is one of the most unique. This chocolate mole with smoked tofu is as satisfying as any meat dish.
Calçots are a Catalan dish of very young leeks simply broiled, slightly blackened, and dressed with olive oil. A great combo for tacos. The typically Oaxacan sauce will make double the amount you need for the tofu, so either freeze half, or if you have more guests, double the amount of tofu. You can serve this as tacos or just as a stew with rice.
This recipe comes from V is for Vegan, a new cookbook by Kerstin Rodgers. For more Kerstin’s amazing recipes, visit her website MsMarmiteLover.
Chocolate Smoky Tofu Mole in Tacos with Grilled Calçots
2016-04-10 11:34:18
Serves 4
Tofu and mole meet in a happy flavor explosion that will keep your diners coming back.
14 oz [400 g] firm smoked tofu, drained and cut into 1-in [2.5-cm] cubes
1 pack of calçots, young leeks or scallions, trimmed
14 corn tortillas
Sea salt
For the Garnish
Slices of avocado
A fistful of alfalfa sprouts
Sprigs of cilantro
Lime wedges
Instructions
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic until soft, then add the chocolate, tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, and allspice. Cook slowly over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare the chilies.
Meanwhile, split all the dried chilies and discard the seeds, then briefly toast the chilies in a dry skillet until soft. Place in a 1 pint [½ L] heatproof pitcher with the vegetable bouillon powder. Fill up the pitcher with boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice.
Put the almonds, the chili and stock mixture, the cooked sauce, agave nectar, and 1 Tbsp salt in a powerful blender. Starting on a low speed, process together, increasing the speed as you go, until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a deep, wide skillet.
By Kerstin Rodgers
Things Vegans Cook http://www.thingsveganscook.com/
I love a good potato soup, and when it’s hot outside cold potato soup, otherwise known as Vichyssoise, tastes so good. In Dina Cheney’s new book The New Milks, she brings together the classic combination of potato and leeks with fennel to make a fantastic tasting soup.
