Vegan Cream of Spinach Soup by Tess Masters

Ingredients

• 4 cups broth using Massel Concentrated Liquid Stock, vegetable flavor
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup green onions (mostly white sections), finely chopped
• 1 cup red onion, sliced
• ¼ cup celery, diced
• 1 cup zucchini, diced
• ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 cups firmly packed baby spinach
• ¼ cup raw almonds, blanched and slivered OR ¼ cup raw cashews, soaked
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ̊F.
2. Cut off the top of the head of garlic, wrap the bulb in aluminum foil, and roast it on a baking sheet for 30 to 40 minutes, until tender. Allow the bulb to cool and then squeeze the garlic pulp out of the husks. (This should yield 2 tablespoons or more of roasted garlic.) Set aside.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add the green onions and red onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the celery, zucchini and parsley and sauté for 5 more minutes.
4. Stir in the roasted garlic and the vegetable broth. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the leaves are just tender.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the soup to cool somewhat. Stir in the nuts.
6. Pour the soup into your blender in batches and pureé on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
7. Return the soup to the saucepan and warm over medium-low heat. Season to taste with pepper and serve.