Broccoli Cashew Soup

This broccoli cashew soup is blended until creamy and garnished with curry chickpeas and cashews. 

It’s pretty plain and simple how most of my recipes come about. I just like to experiment. 

When there is a new ingredient that is all the rage or an old one that is being used in a new way, I simply want to see how it might work in some of my old favorites. 

The ingredient of choice for the past little while has been cashews. You’ve probably seen how they can be turned into a creamy sauce. They are also being used to make a cheese-like product. It’s pretty fascinating if you are into that sort of thing. And I am. 

A while back I made some creamed corn with cashew and recently I decided to see how the blended nuts would be in a broccoli cashew soup.

It turns out that it’s great! The cashews give the soup a slight sweetness and they make it creamy without the need for cream or cheese. You could definitely add those, too, if you like, though. 

I like my soup to have some toppings, so for this one I roasted some broccoli florets and chickpeas with curry powder. When they were done, I chopped the broccoli fine. I sprinkled it over the soup with the chickpeas and added some salted cashew pieces. It went fast around here. Next time I’ll make a double batch. 

What you’ll need:

Soup
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chopped broccoli florets
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, cubed
4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
1 1/4 teaspoon fine ground sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 cups water

Toppings
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, drained and patted dry
1/3 cup chopped broccoli florets
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
1/4 cup salted cashew pieces

How to make it:

To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high. Add the cashews and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add the broccoli and potato, continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. 

Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a low boil, reduce the heat to simmer. Cook partially covered for 8 to 10 minutes, until the broccoli and potatoes are fall-apart tender. Remove from the heat. 

Transfer the soup to a heat-safe blender and cover with the lid. Puree on low for 10 seconds and then turn on high for 30 to 40 seconds until the soup is pureed and smooth. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender in the soup pot to puree the soup.

Pour the soup back into the soup pot. Stir in the salt and pepper, and add the water. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the soup is heated through. 

While the soup is cooking you can prepare the toppings. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the chickpeas and broccoli in a single layer on a large baking sheet, keeping the broccoli to one side (you will chop it more later). Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the curry powder and salt. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the chickpeas are browned and broccoli is tender and the edges begin to crisp. Stir at least once while it bakes. Once the broccoli is cool enough to handle, transfer it to a cutting board and chop it fine. 

To serve, ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with an equal amount of chickpeas, chopped broccoli and cashew pieces.