Vegan creamy cashew and mushroom soup for lunch or dinner

Method

• Roughly chop the different mushrooms.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot.
• Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown and their moisture has evaporated. Scoop out a few golden brown mushrooms for topping the soup when serving. Set aside.
• Add onion and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add vinegar and cook for 2 minutes.
• Pour in the stock, and bring to a gentle simmer.
• Stir in the miso paste and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes for all the flavours to come together.
• Place cashew nuts in the jug of a blender. Scoop out half of the soup and add it to the blender.
• Begin blending on very low speed and work up to high until the soup is completely smooth. (Be careful when blending hot liquids – make sure you allow the steam to escape out the top of the jug)
• Return the blended soup to the pot, and stir to combine. Taste to adjust seasoning.
• Crispy sage leaves
• Place the ¼ cup olive oil in a small saucepan.
• Heat until a test leaf sizzles immediately in the oil.
• Fry a few sage leaves at a time until crisp, ± 10 seconds.
• Transfer quickly with a fork, before they brown, to a tray lined with paper towel. Sprinkle generously with salt.
• Serving
• Serve the soup scattered with a few reserved mushrooms, crispy sage leaves and a fresh crack of black pepper. Enjoy!