Celery, leek & cashew nut soup

This recipe was shared on the Growers' Sheet for 10th November 2017. Elspeth adapted it from 'A Soup for Every Day' from the New Covent Garden Soup Company.

vegetarian, vegan (depending on the margarine used), dairy free, gluten free (depending on the stock used)

Ingredients

30g butter/margarine

1 head of celery, chopped

2 leeks, cleaned and chopped

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

150g unsalted cashews

1 - 1.5 litres stock

a few sprigs of thyme, with the leaves pulled off the stalks

salt/pepper to taste

Optional:

a large potato, peeled and chopped into small chunks, if you want it to be more filling

an inch of fresh ginger, peeled and grated, if you want to spice it up

Directions

1. Melt the butter/margarine in a large heavy-based saucepan, add the chopped veg and the thyme leaves and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Put the nuts in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin to break into pieces.
4. Add the nuts to the soup with 1 litre of stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
5. Blend until smooth, adding more stock if it's thicker than you like.
6. Pass through a sieve if you don't want any stringy bits from the celery.
7. Season to taste.

This recipe tastes even better made with vegetables from Community Harvest Whetstone :)